The Legend of Zelda: Gerudo's Feint
by B1NARD1
Summary: Hyrule's peace and prosperity has come to an end. The Hero of Time is nowhere to be seen. Or is he? Link is the King of the Gerudo, and Ganondorf Dragmire is the captain of the Royal Guard of Hyrule. When these two figure out their true destinies, who will truly be accepted at the one to save Hyrule? Rated T for violence and slightly suggestive themes
1. Pilot

It was a regular day in the vast deserts of Gerudo Valley, and as always, the young Gerudo thief, Rei went to go talk to the only Gerudo male in the entire village.  
"Hello?" Rei called looking for her friend. When she was not responded to, she called out again. "Hello?!" This time, she turned around to see her friend standing there which caused her to jump back and fall.

"Sorry about that", the Gerudo male said as he offered a hand to his friend.

"You really shouldn't sneak up on me like that anyways..." Rei complained as she took the hand of her friend. She always was a jumpy one but she was still rather upset with her friend for doing that.

The Gerudo male laughed as he pulled up Rei off of the sand. "You may want to wipe the sand off of your skirt, for the 3rd time this week." He began to laugh even more as his friend now began to get rather upset with his teasing.

"Hmph. You really are mean, Link", Rei said as she brushed the sand off of her skirt. "Anyways... you ready to head out to Hyrule Castle?" Rei asked Link with a smile

"Hyrule Castle?" Link questioned "Why are we going there, again?"

Rei slapped a palm to her face quite frustrated that Link forgot what they were going to do. "We're going to have a tea party, Link. What do you think?!" Rei shouted, annoyed with Link.

Link scratched the back of his head in embarrassment to forgetting his task. "To... steal?" Link replied shyly.

"Bingo." Rei said as she put her mask over her mouth. "I'll meet you in Hyrule Castle Town before we head out." Rei now went to where the horse stables were, ready to set out. "Oh and Link," Rei added as she turned to her friend "please try not to get caught. The captain of the Royal Guard is already on our butts from last time. All he needs is proof this time."

Link thought back to last time in Hyrule Castle when he almost got caught

_Link had just stolen a small treasure that would sell for about 100 rupees and was on his way back to the rendezvous point where Rei was waiting as he began to hear the strong gallop of a horse nearing him. "Crap!" He thought to himself as he now began to sprint to the nearest hiding spot to avoid the nearing guard whom just so happened to be the captain. He found a small opening in a wall which he instinctively ran into. He watched from the hole as a white horse galloped past him, luckily without the guard on its back noticing him. "Thank the goddesses..." he thought as he slowly crept out of the hole and began to climb the wall to escape back out to Hyrule field so he could meet up with Rei._

"Y-Yeah..." Link responded meekly as he walked to Hyrule field. Link wasn't without a horse as he could easily pick one up from the stables at any time, but he didn't like to use this luxury even though by tradition, he was supposed to be king of the Gerudo. He rejected this for reasons the Gerudo women never understood. He simply did not like attention.

Link kept pondering until he made it to Hyrule Castle Town where he saw Rei waiting there against a wall

"It's about time." Rei said in a slightly annoyed tone as she walked up to Link "There are guards watching the entrance to the courtyard. I hope this isn't too much of a problem for y-" Before Rei could finish, Link took Rei's slingshot out of her bag and used it to knock out the two guards protecting the entrance to the courtyard "L-Link!" Rei yelled as she began to blush

"What?" Link calmly said as he handed her the slingshot "You wanted a way in, didn't you?" Link was always a respectful boy, especially being in an all woman race, he had no choice. But he didn't show as much respect to Rei, being she was his best friend

"Yeah... but you could've just asked." Rei shyly said

Link simply laughed to this and proceeded to enter the courtyard, making sure no commoners saw them.

Link and Rei stood there taking in the beauty of the courtyard's lush grass, its tall trees, and the admirable stone carvings. "It's always nice here..." Link stated while looking around. Link didn't notice at first but when he looked around again, he saw that there were more guards in the courtyard than last time. "Looks like that high and mighty captain stepped up the security here." Link said as he reached for Rei's bag again to take her slingshot.

Rei quickly reacted this time by slapping Link's hand. "Don't even bother. I didn't bother to find pellets for it so I'm down to one" Rei said, following with "and given each point being watched from has two guards protecting it; one pellet would just arouse suspicion from the other guard."

Link sighed, defeated and picked up a heavy rock and threw it at one point not being watched "Come on, let's go." Link said, grabbing Rei's hand and running to a nearby hiding spot. He watched as two guards walked over to inspect the sound and right when they turned to go back to their posts, after finding there was nothing to be suspicious about, Link banged them both on the back of their heads with the hilts of his swords.

"Well, you just knocked out two out of eight. It's a start" Rei mused as she emerged from the hiding spot.

Link pulled her back in when he saw another guard walking to inspect the thud he heard from the two fallen guards. Link did the same thing to him that he did to the other two guards, but this time, making sure he fell quiet.

"Make that three" Rei said amused "Now you just gotta make sure his partner doesn't get curious" Once more, Rei found Link taking her slingshot and using the last pellet to incapacitate the lone guard whom was positioned in the soft grass so he didn't make too much of a thud.

Link returned her slingshot with a smile on his face. "Four." He mused.

"Is this going to be a usual thing with you? Invading my personal space?" Rei complained, blushing lightly. "Now then, let's get back to our mission." She said pointing to the four remaining guards protecting the door to the actual castle

"Well, this should be easy." Link said as he ran head on to the guards with no hesitation whatsoever

"Link, are you crazy?!" Rei hissed in a whisper but it was useless as Link was already out of earshot. "Ugh... boys." Rei said as she followed Link, helping him in knocking out the four guards. They managed to do so without much of an uproar so they could safely enter Hyrule Castle. This was their first time actually inside the castle as most times they would just steal from outer courtyard's barracks and rooms but this was no mere room. It was grand and a wonderful sight for a castle. They quickly ran over to the nearest room, snagging a silver rupee that was in a chest along with a gold statue of princess Zelda herself.

Link deducted that this was her own room but then erased the idea since the room was so close to the entrance of the castle. He then wanted to mess with the room of the Royal Captain just to get revenge for practically scaring Link to death last time when he was almost caught. It took him two minutes until he found the room. While Rei was looting it, Link began wrecking it and once they were both done, he let out a satisfied chuckle.

They decided to leave once they had enough stolen goods and left the castle quietly and in turn, left the courtyard. A few people had noticed the two unconscious guards while the duo was in the courtyard but they didn't get caught luckily due to Link's stealth skills and Rei's speed. All seemed well when the two were about to leave to Hyrule field until Link, going much slower than Rei was seen by two guards that arrived after Rei dashed out of Hyrule Castle Town. "Oh, crap." Link thought as he now began to run but saw that his path was blocked by 5 guards that usually walked around Hyrule Castle Town. "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" Link thought again as he tried to take a detour into the south part of Hyrule Castle Town only to see a large guard that normal watched that area. Link was now screwed as he said aloud "Craaaaaaaaap..." Link has one option now, to fight his way out. He was prepared to do so until the captain of the Royal Guard emerged from Telma's Bar and was now making his way to the streets of the south market. Link now has no chance whatsoever and simply ran for dear life only to be caught by the captain.

"Well, well. Look what we have here." growled the captain in a deep voice. The captain was horribly intimidating, standing at 6'6" while Link was merely 5'6". Not to mention the captain was large and strong as he was tall. Fighting him was suicide. Link was now captured by none other than the captain and taken to the dungeon of Hyrule Castle. Luckily, Rei had most of the stolen goods leaving Link simply stripped of his swords, his bag and a purple rupee he had stolen from a guard that he knocked out.


	2. Three Golden Triangles

Link was thrown into a small jail cell after that little incident in Hyrule Castle Town and he did not like it one bit. The jail seemed familiar to him even though this is his first time being in it. There was a broken chain in the corner next to a little pile of hay. The floor was dirty, covered in moss and dirt. He even found a part of the cell where a dog could dig into. "This is what they give me? Really?" Link complained aloud.

"Be glad you have the freedom of being able to stand up and move. Most prisoners are bounded to the wall by chains." A nearby guard said with slight sympathy for Link in his voice "The captain will be in court with your friend soon. She is trying to get you out of jail by testifying. I suggest you start praying." The guard mused.

Link frowned at this but knew that the guard was right, and with this he actually began praying that Rei would get him out of here "Nayru help me..." he said in a whisper. The guard actually felt the slightest amount of sorrow for the young Gerudo as he saw how worried he was. "Look kid," the guard started "when the trial starts, I'll let you out of here to watch it. It might ease up some of your worry" Link immediately perked up at this and was about to thank the guard when he was interrupted "I still have to keep you restrained however. Hyrule law." The guard said resentfully.

Link did not seem very upset at this statement and instead nodded at the guard, understanding his reason for this. "By the way... what's the captain's name anyways?" Link asked. He never heard the captain's name since he began stealing from Hyrule Castle Town and he began to think the name was cursed.

"Ah, I assume you've never heard anything about him besides his great intimidation." The guard said and Link responded to this with a nervous nod. "His name is Ganondorf" The guard continued. Link involuntarily shuddered at hearing the name but he did not know why. "If you haven't noticed, he's rather large and has the strength to back it up." Link was now very scared. Even though he and Rei were both somewhat safe, he had a great sense of fear and foreboding when hearing about Ganondorf. Link finally said something to the guard. "Is he a Hylian?" Link asked intently "Of course he is." The guard said which seemed obvious. Link was surprised. "I've never seen a Hylian like him before... Even his skin argues against that fact."

Ganondorf was rather tan for a Hylian, not as tan as Link or any of the Gerudo were, but still darker than a Hylian should be. On top of that, his hair was light brown, almost matching Rei's maroon hair colour or Link's dark red hair. In other words, Ganondorf looked like a Gerudo. "Anyways," Link started as he tried to shake the thought of Ganondorf from his brain "when does the trial begin?"

"In one hour. For some reason, the captain wanted to talk with your friend immediately" The guard replied with some confusion.

"Probably wants to get her in jail too..." Link muttered to himself. "Dammit! Why did I let myself get captured like this?!" Link cursed under his breath then looked up to the guard "Well, thanks for your help, uh..." Link started before realizing he didn't know the guard's name.

"Rusl." The guard finished for him "I was named after my great grandfather." Link smiled lightly at the kind guard and said "Well, thank you Rusl." For the next hour, Link spoke to Rusl about many different topics until they both heard a siren, signifying that the trial was going to start now. "Well, kid you know the drill." Rusl said as he opened Link's cell and put the handcuffs on his hands.

Link was then taken to the Royal Courtroom where he was immediately greeted by Rei with a tight hug. "G-Good to see you too R-Rei" Link said through his choking voice. For a girl, Rei had a strong hug. Link was sat down next to Rei while he watched Rusl walk over to the door where he stood to watch the trial unfold. The trial was horribly boring for Link, as it was a wonder how he didn't fall asleep. For the last part of it, he was not allowed to stay as they thought he would interfere so Rusl took him back to his cell.

"Well, that was dull" Link said, then laughing at how he was glad to be there at first and now wishes he was never brought in the first place. Rusl simply chuckled at this statement and undid Link's handcuffs and Link got back in his cell where he waited for the trial to be over. He kept quiet for the most part as he didn't want Rusl to get in trouble for talking to the prisoner incase Ganondorf came by. He waited for about 10 minutes until he saw Rei and Ganondorf walking to where Link's cell was. Link had no idea whether he was putting Rei in there or letting Link go until the captain finally said to Rusl, "Let him out."

Without a word, Rusl obeyed and released Link and as per his right, Link jumped right out of the cell and hugged Rei, thanking her for getting him out of this situation. Ganondorf simply glanced at the two with no emotion showing and when they were done embracing, Ganondorf offered a hand out to Link. "No hard feelings, kid. I hope this can be a start for a new friendship between us and the Gerudo." Ganondorf said, trying to sound kind.

Link reluctantly shook Ganondorf's hand but when he did so, he noticed something on the back of his left hand was glowing. As was Ganondorf's left hand. They both noticed it themselves, but did not know if the other noticed it. When both of them inspected their hands, they saw three small triangles forming one larger triangle. Though Link saw that the bottom right triangle was glowing slightly brighter, and with Ganondorf, the top triangle was glowing slightly brighter. They both had a quick flash of a vision. Ganondorf saw a boy no older than 17 wearing a green tunic and a long green hat impaling him with a longsword that glowed bright with holy light. Link saw Ganondorf, but a more evil looking version, with grey skin and wearing a king's garb and in his hand was a mystical sword, but it looked unholy, as if it was a sword made to blot out all light forever.

The two were both shaken by this but made no visible note, as they thought the other was completely unaware of the event that just occurred. Link cleared his throat and said "My name is Link." Ganondorf was a bit shocked at the name but did not know why. He brushed this off and responded to Link, "My name is Ganondorf." Link wanted to say "I know", but ignored the urge when he noticed he shuddered at the name again. "Are you cold?" Ganondorf asked him, wondering why he shuddered. Link knew that was not the reason but he just nodded to avoid awkwardness. "So...you were saying something about a friendship between the Gerudo and Hyrule Castle?" Link asked to change the subject. "Ah, yes. Why don't we work on that now?" Ganondorf said, walking away prompting Rei and Link to follow.

Rei followed happily and Link walked along reluctantly, waving goodbye to Rusl before he left. Once they were all out of the bleak jail, they walked through Hyrule Castle Town, on their way to the courtyard. A few commoners were quite surprised to see two Gerudos with the captain of the Royal Guard, but none made audible note of it. Once they got to the courtyard, Link and Rei took in the sight yet again. This was a bit of a weakness for them given that Gerudo Valley isn't the most beautiful place in Hyrule. Once the trio entered the castle, Link was given back his stuff aside from what he stole. Luckily Rei still had the stuff she took safe. If they were all friends now, she could view those items as a welcoming gift. After Link took his sword and other items, Ganondorf spoke up.

"Link, I want you to meet someone. Rei, you're free to come along too." He said, once again trying to sound kind. Ganondorf could care less for introducing Link to this person, he just wanted to see if the situation that occurred earlier was connected to who Link was about to meet.

Link nodded and followed Ganondorf further in the castle until they came upon a room. Ganondorf knocked on the wall to alert the person that he was coming in.

"Oh, hello Ganondorf. Come in" The woman said before she noticed Link with Ganondorf "I see you have a friend with you?" She asked. Link examined the woman intently and determined she was about 18 years old, only one year older than Link was. She was wearing an elegant dress, one that a princess would wear. In the middle of the chest, the dress had the same triangle that Link saw on his hand earlier. He made no note of it and examined the woman more. She had long blonde hair and on top of that, she was rather beautiful.

"Ah, yes. This is Link, he will help us to form a new era of friendship between the Gerudo and Hyrule Castle." Ganondorf stated

The woman smiled lightly and walked over to Link to greet him. "Well, hello, Link. My name is Zelda Harkinan." She said as she held out a hand to Link.

Link perked up at hearing the name but made no visible note of it and instead wondered in his head why he was so happy to hear the name. He thought nothing of it and accepted Zelda's hand. When he did this, the same thing happened with Link and Zelda that did with him and Ganondorf. Link noticed it yet again, and so did Zelda. On Zelda's right hand, the bottom left triangle was glowing brighter than the others and it was official. Link and Zelda were having a mental breakdown privately. When they pulled their hands away, the two saw the exact same vision. A young boy, about 17 wearing a green tunic and a long green hat was talking to someone who looked like Zelda. It flashed for a few seconds before the two hugged each other and the boy pulled out his sword after the embrace, as if he was ready to go into a battle.

Zelda and Link didn't know it, but Ganondorf saw the flash of the triangle on the duo's hands and now was grinning.

Zelda cleared her throat and turned away to get something. "Link, I want you to take this. It is a gift signifying our new friendship." Zelda turned back and handed Link a small statuette of the goddess Farore. Link accepted it and bowed in courtesy.

"Thank you, Miss Zelda." Link said as he got up from his bow. "Well, I must return home now. It has been a pleasure making your acquaintance, Ganondorf and Zelda." Link said politely and without another word, walked away with Rei.

Ganondorf dismissed himself from Zelda's room with a bow. Once everyone was out of earshot, Ganondorf began to laugh evilly upon his discovery of the phenomenon that just occurred. He now decided to pay a visit to the King of Hyrule to begin his plan. Once he arrived there, he greeted the King on his knees, concealing a dagger and a smile.

"Ah, Hello Ganondorf. I take it there is something you wanted to tell me?" The noble King asked

"Yes, My King. I think there is something sinister going on" Ganondorf said, holding two hands behind his back, one holding the dagger. "The Gerudo may be planning an attack on us." The King's eyes widened at the news of this. "I know. Over whelming. My men are ready for this fight if we strike first." Ganondorf said, holding back a smile.

"No, Ganondorf. What will the people of Hyrule think of us for starting a war? We just cannot do that. I'm sorry."

Ganondorf showed no emotion as he put a hand on the king's shoulder. "Ah, I understand, King. I will not argue with your judgment." Ganondorf said with a smile. In a split second, Ganondorf's left hand thrust at the King and all that followed next, was a splash of blood and the body of King Harkinan falling limp. "Instead, I will take your judgment from you." Ganondorf said sinisterly and then began to laugh.

Ganondorf was now pleased. And he could begin his evil plan to take over Hyrule. Starting with...

The Triforce.


	3. Gerudoes, Conflicts, and Sand

Link and Rei had mounted the horse that they had left outside of Hyrule Castle Town and now were on their way back home. For Link, however, it was not a fun trip. Still a bit shaken up from the event that had taken place back in Hyrule Castle, Rei wouldn't stop pestering him with questions about if he was ok or if he got enough sleep. Rei may be only one year older than Link, but she still knows how to annoy the kid like a mother. Link eventually tuned out Rei's nagging and stared intently at the small statuette that princess Zelda had given him. It was green and quite lovely. The goddesses were a fair sight according to the Hylians, but the Gerudoes weren't exactly as focused on deities like the Hylians were.

"Link, are you listening to me?" Rei snapped at the boy lost in thought. Rei didn't know whether to slap him upside the head, or laugh at his interest in the statuette. Rei decided to go with the more fun option which was slapping him in the back of the head which shook him from his thoughts immediately. "Link!" Rei yelled at him with a hint of amusement and annoyance in her voice. Link was beyond roused from his thinking and was now a bit frustrated.

"Hey! What was that for?" Link exclaimed in a mix of confusion, anger, and shock. A whole lot of shock. Rei was now laughing and getting more entertained as Link got more upset. "Hmph. You know one day you're going to be the one getting caught in one of these raids and I'm going to be laughing at you." Link said, rubbing the back of his head.

"When that happens, I'll be sure to bring my camera for you, Link." Rei mused in response. They went back and forth until they ended up back at Gerudo Desert. There were a few Gerudo hanging out there, but only to be preparing to head out somewhere. "Probably to go find a boyfriend" Link thought. They kept riding until they made their way back to Gerudo Valley, home to the Gerudo race. There was a fortress here that offered many purposes, such as a prison, a training ground, an archery area, and even housing. Link had the biggest room of the fortress, being the destined king of the Gerudo, no matter how much he told them he didn't want to be a king.

The stables were nearby, so Link and Rei dismounted the horse, Link volunteering to walk it over to the stables. Link never did like riding horses for short distances anyways, so he felt the need to give the girl a rest. As Link was returning the horse, he noticed a Gerudo standing over by the stables. He just greeted her with a smile and a wave, trying to avoid anything else. Unfortunately, Link didn't get the mutual greeting.

"Link!" The Gerudo exclaimed happily, running over to him. Link had half a mind to turn and run as fast as he could but before he could even move, he found the girl hugging him tightly. "It's been so long since I've seen you here, Link! You really should come by the stables more often." the girl said with slight disdain in her voice. Since Link rarely used a horse, he just as rarely went by the stables. Link knew this and tried to be as nice as possible. Unfortunately his brain had nothing nice to say besides "get the hell off of me" so he just grunted to show his discomfort. "Oh! I'm sorry Link!" the girl said, letting go of Link instantly. Link didn't exactly like the attention he got but at least she wasn't trying to seduce him like a few girls did. "Gerudoes gotta reproduce somehow I guess..." Link accidentally thought aloud. Link just prayed to his little Farore statuette that the Gerudo next to him didn't hear him. His prayers went unanswered, unfortunately, as the red head looked at Link with a half puzzled and half flustered expression. Link's prayers turned to curses as he knew the Gerudo had heard him.

It took a few minutes of lying for Link to get out of that situation, as he then left the horse under the young girl's care and he now was headed over to the training grounds. Link was assigned a personal trainer for the grounds. She was a pretty good teacher, and she was about 5 years older than Link. Her name was Taoka, an odd name, Link thought, but he never made any audible note of it. "Oh, hey Link. Come for your training session today?" Taoka asked while raising hell on a poor defenseless punching bag. Link shuddered, being grateful he was always on Taoka's good side. "Uhh... yeah." Link said, making sure not to get near her while she was in her brawler mode. Taoka spared the punching bag and went to train with Link for the next hour, helping him hone his hand to hand combat skills and his sword fighting skills. Link was done training for the day so he thanked Taoka and left the grounds and decided to take a walk around the Valley.

Link spotted another girl trying to start something with Rei as always. These arguments were generally started over Link mainly because he's either very attractive, or these Gerudo women are pretty damn desperate. Link sighed and walked over to the two bickering girls to try and shut them up, of course to no avail. "Oh goddesses... WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?!" Link yelled angrily which earned him a few glances from passing Gerudoes but did not silence the two girls. "Now that's just unfair..." Link whined to himself. He now gave up everything and simply picked up Rei and carried her away over his shoulder

"Hey! Link! W-What are you doing?!" Rei exclaimed in shock as Link promptly ended the argument. "I wasn't done with her!" Rei continued to yell as Link carried her to her room inside the fortress. The Gerudo Fortress was actually quite nice on the inside past the prison. It was kept in nice shape most times, Link's room being the messiest and the only messy room for that matter. There were a few exotic plants around the housing area picked from near the temple of the Sand Goddess nearby. There were also a few more common plants around, most stolen however. Speaking of stolen eye candies, there were a few gems decorating the doors that Link and Rei had "recovered" from Hyrule Castle. As Link made it to Rei's room, he tossed her off of his back and onto the bed in her room. "Oh goddesses, Link is going to rape me." Rei mused. Link took a bit of anger towards this, as it insulted him quite a bit but he knew it was a joke so he took not too much offense to it.

"Rei, you have really got to stop getting in arguments all the time. Much less over me." Link said grimly. Link may have been used to this, but in lieu of all that had happened today, he was in no mood to deal with girls arguing over which one is going to have sex with him first or who is going to marry him.

"It wasn't my fault..." Rei said with a hint of sorrow in her voice "they always get mad at me because they think I-" Rei began to say before Link stopped her abruptly, knowing he would be quite uncomfortable with what she was going to say next. Link simply sighed loudly and plopped onto Rei's bed beside her. "Link..." Rei started "are you sure you're oka-"

"Yes, I am freaking fine, Rei! Goddesses, what is with you?! You can't stop pestering me for 5 minutes can you?!" Link shouted at her. Link suddenly snapped out of his random anger, realizing what he had just said to her. His best friend at that. Link was actually expecting a slap for what he had just said. "Rei... I'm sorry. I have no idea why I said that..." Link said with the utmost sorrow in his tone. Instead of having to convince Rei to forgive him, he was replied with a well expected slap and a smile on Rei's face.

"Now I forgive you!" Rei beamed.

"What is it with you and causing me pain..." Link whined as he rubbed his burning cheek. He turned to curse at the Farore statuette for not helping him when he realized it was not near him. Link mentally slapped himself for forgetting it at the training grounds during his session with Taoka. "Rei?" Link began "Can you do me a favour?"

"Sure. It'll be my pay to you for hurting your precious cheek" Rei teased.

"Very funny..." Link said under his breath "Can you run over to the training grounds and pick up that statuette the princess gave me?" Link asked

"Sure." Rei said, hopping up off the bed "Just be careful. If you get too attached to that thing, those girls will be after princess Zelda too." Rei mused as she walked out the door to carry out Link's favour

Link smiled as Rei left the room and decided to take a nap as he waited for her to return. Unfortunately, Rei got into yet another argument, so Link's little task took longer to carry out. Quite a lot longer. Nonetheless, Rei made did retrieve the statuette from the training grounds and made her way back to where Link was waiting for her. In that rather long time, Link had managed to fall asleep and everybody in Gerudo Valley knew better than to wake up Link. Rei simply placed the statuette on the table besides Link.

_Link was standing in front of the large temple residing in the lost woods which the effects of time have taken its toll on. He had gone through a lot of trouble to get here and he hoped that it was worth it all. He noticed that the stairs were destroyed and silently cursed at the worthless effort. He turned to walk away from the area but felt something tingling on his hand. He knew well what it was so he took no major notice and started to walk. The feeling on his hand turned from tingling to itching and from itching to burning. He decided to heed the attention of the blasted thing and turned back to the temple to see a platform glowing. Astonished, he walked closer to it and it began glow blindingly and his hand was practically on fire. As soon as he stepped on the platform he couldn't see anything except the bright li- _

"Link? Link!" Rei shouted trying to wake Link up from his deep sleep. She eventually succeeded in doing this, only to elicit an annoyed expression from Link who was becoming very engaged in his short dream. "Finally you're awake..." Rei said relieved, ignoring the obvious annoyance from Link.

"Rei, why did you wake me up?" Link asked, trying to seem less annoyed than he was. Before Rei could give him a response, he felt the same burning feeling he had when he was in the confusing dream. Frustrated beyond words Link looked down at his burning hand only to see it glowing brightly.

"That's why." Rei said matter-of-factly

Link's frustration turned to astonishment and stood up calmly, trying to hide all emotion he had in him currently. "I'll be back later. Don't come looking for me." Link said, grabbing his sword and Rei's slingshot from her bag resting on the night table. He left the fortress and gathered about 20 rocks from the ground. He earned a few glances from Gerudoes passing by and a few offers for help, but he just shooed them away. As soon as Link managed to get enough rocks and was prepared to leave, he was stopped by one of the more... straight-forward Gerudoes.

"Hey Link. What're you up to?" The female said with a wink. She had always tried to seduce him, though Link knew he wasn't really so attractive that he would gain the attention of most females in Gerudo Valley. He just so happened to be the only male there and Gerudoes preferred to have a relationship with Link over a Hylian. Regardless of how attractive some of the girls were, Rei included, Link had no intentions of entering a relationship now. "Nothing." Link said with a more uncaring tone than usual. The girl raised an eyebrow at his strange behaviour but made no further note of it. "So..." the girl started "you heading out somewhere?"

"Yes." Link responded nonchalantly

"Maybe I can co-" the girl was about to say but was interrupted by Link's hand. "I'm going alone. If I see you following me, there's going to be problems. Got it?" Link threatened half angered. Before the confused young female could answer, Link answered for her. "Yes? Good."

Not saying a word to any other Gerudo, Link jumped on one of the horses at the stables and rode out of the valley towards Hyrule.


	4. A Hero I Once Was

Link rode to the land of Hyrule slowly so he rode for a few hours. He wasn't in any particular rush to go anywhere so he did have time to take in the sights and hopefully get a few answers about his glowing hand. Hyrule truly was a nice sight. Getting there from the Gerudo Valley was not an easy feat. There was no direct route from the desert to Hyrule so his horse had to go through some abuse to get to the land of the Hylians. They were well tempered by now so it proved no matter to the fine steed.

Link made it to the Great Bridge of Hylia which was riddled by time along with the bridge of Eldin. It was still kept in very good condition as it was very popular and said to have great luck as the Hero of Hyrule fought and defeated one of many evil commanders who was causing havoc thoughout Hyrule with his strongbulbin army. Link had heard stories of this very Hero who vanquished the evil king forever. Link never liked hearing about this story as the so-called "evil king" was a Gerudo just as Link was. A banished Gerudo at that, but nonetheless, one of his own kind. There was even an artist's drawing of him in a museum once. "He kinda looks like that captain of the Royal Guard..." Link thought to himself.

He was still riding for about 30 minutes before he realized something; He had no idea where he was going to go for answers. "Smooth, Link. Smooth." He noticed a farm in the distance and felt it was better to go there instead of the Gerudo Valley, where he would be bombarded with questions from Rei. "Well at least you can make some new friends, girl" Link said, patting his horse on the side. The farm was a good distance away and on top of that, his horse was walking so it took him a few minutes to get there.

"Hello?" Link called out upon entering the front gate of the small farm. There was a fairly small house, big enough for maybe two or three people and a small stable room near it. He saw the horse stable outside though, so he deducted that this shack was for cows and cuccos. _"Blasted birds..."_Link thought.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Link heard a female voice call out. _"Oh lovely. A girl other than a Gerudo. But then again I did meet the princess..."_ Link was deep in thought about this, not noticing the confused Hylian girl staring at him. _She was pretty at that._ Link continued to think _"But then again it wonder if it would be better to have a relationship with a Gerudo than a Hylian. Maybe Rei would be interested? Wait... wha-"_Link's thoughts were interrupted by the loud crowing of a cucco which scared him out of his skin. He hated those birds and even hit one of them once with a Deku nut he found. Unfortunately, he was then attacked by a flock of the blasted things. He still dreaded that day. Although this one only scared him so much that he fell off of his horse which he preferred over a violent pecking.

"Um... are you ok?" The young Hylian asked a fallen Link. This girl was probably around Link's age, give or takes a year or two. She had long, light brown hair, almost red. She wore a dress that stopped a little bit above the base of her foot. Her dress was mostly white, with some orange in red in a few places, adding to the design. She had a small medallion in the shape of Bowser which Link thought was odd, but he made no note of it. On top of all that, she was rather attractive.

"Yeah. I think... Is there a cucco within 10 feet of me?" Link responded, half joking and half worried for his safety. He dared not move because if one of those things was close to him, he knew he was not going to enjoy that moment.

"Well there is that one over there next to the barn. But I don't think he's going to hurt you..." The girl said with a hint of confusion in her tone. "Anyways, I bet you're wondering where this is. Right?" She said in a soft voice.

"Sorta. I just wanted to stay somewhere" Link responded, jumping up off of his back and onto his feet.

"Well, this is Lon Lon Ranch. My father owns this place and I help him herd the animals along with Ingo, a man we hired to help out." The girl said, now turning to the horse stables. "As you can see, that's where we keep our horses. All of them are in good shape especially one of them. We call her Epona. She's a bit skittish though... I just play a song to get her calm." By the time she turned around, she saw the Gerudo boy break-dancing for no apparent reason. She just came to the conclusion that he got bored of her story. "Umm... what are you doing?" The redhead asked softly.

Link noticed that she had stopped talking and was now staring at him dancing like a fool. He could feel embarrassment welling up inside him. "Nothing.." Link responded coolly, trying not to show his embarrassment. "So..." Link started, looking for a way to change the subject "you said something about a horse?"

"Yes. Her name is Epona. She's quite the jumpy one, as I said before." The girl said. She began to walk towards the stables and gestured for Link to follow her. Once they were there she proceeded to open the stable gate of one horse that Link assumed was Epona.

Epona was a fine horse; her coat was brown and well kept. It looked almost shiny and as if it could take a hit from Link's sword with ease. He obviously thought against trying this and inspected the horse a bit more. Her mane was pure white, as was her tail. Epona's eyes were that of any other horse, black and full. But Link could have sworn he saw a bit of blue in them. "This is Epona, I take it?" Link asked the girl who was now trying to calm the hyper steed down.

"Yes. As you can see I was ri-" The redhead started as she was interrupted by Epona's jerking "Hey! Stop it!" The girl snapped at the wild mount. "I'm sorry, she's normally not this hyper. I guess it's just because there's an unfamiliar face here." She apologized.

"It's ok. Do you mind if I try to calm her down?" Link offered.

"I don't see how you can manage to tame Epo-" The girl stopped when she saw Link walking up to a jumpy Epona and simply watched in awe as he was petting the nose of the chestnut coloured horse. Much more to her amazement, Epona had calmed down and even started nibbling at Link's hair.

"No! My awesome hair!" Link exclaimed while Epona was trying to make a meal of his head. "Eat the cucco instead! He's tastier!" Link continued to protest which earned him a glare from the redhead and a nearby cucco alike. Link returned the glare to the bird putting his hand where his sword sheath was. "Come at me, bird." Link threatened to the small thing which now earned a giggle from the girl behind him. Link turned around to meet the girl's eyes. "Excuse me, miss, but can I kill this thing? I will pay you 100 rupees for that evil bird's life right now." Link said in the most serious tone he could muster.

"Nope!" The redhead chimed, quite amused with Link's behaviour. "I'd rather watch you intimidate him." She said, watching the small bird slowly advance towards Link.

He quickly whipped around and gave the cucco a death glare which stopped it cold in it's tracks. "Thats what I thought." Link muttered earning yet another giggle from the girl behind him. "I'm sorry, I never caught your name" Link said, keeping the cucco in view from the corner of his eye, half turning to face the redhead.

"It's Malon. Malon Lon." The girl said, beaming at Link.

"Malon Lon? Now I see how you got the name Lon Lon Ranch." Link said, still keeping surveillance on the bird. "My name is Link. Link... um... actually I don't remember ever having a last name." Link stuttered, remembering that he was born an orphan.

"You don't?" Malon asked, raising an eyebrow at Link who now turned to pet Epona's nose.

"Nope. I was born not knowing either of my parents. I assume they're both dead." "Link stated, brushing Epona's mane with his hand

"Oh. I'm so sorry..." Malon said resentfully

"Nah. It's alright." Link responded nonchalantly as if he didn't just say what he did. Malon just eyed him with a surprised look on her face. Link glanced over for a quick second just to look at Malon's surprised face, but quickly turned back to Epona, keeping the cucco still staring Link down in his sights. "I never knew them, so I never felt incredibly bad about thier death. Not like they were married either. My mother just did it so she could have a son. So I'm not to interested in meeting my father." Link said, answering Malon's mental question.

"_So he's a mind reader..._" Malon thought in response to Link's answering of her inward question. "Oh..." Malon said, putting her thoughts where they belonged, in her brain.

Before Link could respond with anything, his stomach growled, rather loudly. "Oh boy..." Link muttered, realizing his hunger. The cucco next to him never looked tastier. Link gave Malon a pleading look, only to be returned with a shake of the head. "Please, Malon?" Link tried again.

"No, Link. You can have some food but you're not going to eat my poor cucco!" Malon snapped back at Link jokingly. She found it a bit odd that she had just met Link yet she was already joking with him and offering him food as if he was a close friend. She took a look at Link and noticed something about him. "You know, you look alot like the Hero of Time, Link." Malon said, slightly staring at Link "If he were a tanned ginger." Malon added in with a smile. Link simply scoffed in response.

"For your information, all Gerudoes are tan. And you're one to talk, gingy." Link retorted, smiling back.

"Touché." Malon replied before hearing Link's stomach growl again. "Come inside. I'm sure your horse needs a break as well. It's getting dark anyways." Malon said, walking towards the house near the entrance to the farm, gesturing for Link to come.

Link flashed the cucco another glare before following the redhead into the house. Once inside he saw a rather plump man sleeping on the floor with two cuccos comforting him. Link cringed upon seeing the cuccos but shook it off when Malon looked at him with disdain. "You can't get rid of my hate for the things..." Link muttered, replying to Malon's look. Link followed Malon, avoiding the cuccos as best as possible. He finally made it to the kitchen, where he was told to sit down. Link obeyed and scanned the kitchen while waiting for Malon to cook the food. The kitchen was painted a nice while colour with a few black tiles here and there. If you looked at the ground, you'd guess that they were supposed to be a cow design. He stifled a laugh and looked up to examine the walls. They were pure white tiles, slightly larger than the tiles that were on the floor, with a few design illustrated on them. Before he could continue to marvel at the Oh-so-amazing kitchen, Malon placed some food in front of him. "That was fast." Link said, looking up at Malon.

"We already had the food cooked. I just warmed it up." Malon replied, taking a plate of food and moving to her chair at the table. "Eat up. It's Deku nut roasted cucco." Malon said before cutting a piece of her own food into a small chunk. Link smiled happily upon hearing this was cucco meat, earning yet another glare from Malon.

The two ate quietly, for the most part. Even if either of them wanted to talk, Link was stuffing his mouth with the food. He was obviously starving. Once Link had finished, he let out a satisfied sigh. "Malon, you're really a great cook!" Link beamed happily.

"Thank you." Malon responded, still finishing off her food. "So... you said you were a Gerudo?" Malon asked, trying to make small talk. "I've heard alot of bad things about them. But I don't think it's true..." she added, trying not to insult Link.

"Well, we are thieves, I'll say that. But besides that, nothing else is bad about us. We're a noble race and we go by rules." Link responded calmly. Malon just stared at him blankly in reply. "Hey do you know what time it is?" Link asked, attempting to break Malon's silence.

"Uh... no." Malon muttered "But I think there is a gossip stone around here that can tell you." Link raised an eyebrow.

"Gossip stone?" Link asked.

"Yup. They're these stones supposedly left by the Sheikah to gather information." Malon said "But for non-Sheikahs, they can give you the time or some other 'gossip' if you will. All you have to do is hit it with a sword or something. You can't miss it, it has a really weird design on it."

"Oh, thanks. If it's as late as I think it is, I'm going to have to get going." Link replied with a hint of sadness that he has to go back to girls trying to seduce him at every corner. He shuddered at the thought of him returning to that. "I'll be sure to visit again sometime, Malon. I'll bring an apple for Epona next time." Link said, standing up from his seat.

"I'm sure she would like that." Malon said, smiling at Link's kind offer.

Link walked out the door and searched for the gossip stone. He originally wanted to see what time it was, but after what Malon said, he had to go to it to reap whatever information he could. He found the stone outside the ranch, but not very far. As Malon described, it was a rather odd stone. The pattern was something Link had never seen before. There was a single eye in the dead center of the stone with what seemed like a teardrop below it. There were three triangles above it, meant to look like eyebrows. Link approached the stone and smacked it with his sword. The odd rock shook for a short second.

_DING DING! The time is 7:57 pm! _

"Well you're unhelpful." Link muttered under his breath. He pulled out a Deku nut and threw it at the stone, hoping for a different reaction.

_DING DING! The time is 7:58 pm! _

"Ok there is no way a minute passed that fast. You are messing with me." Link snapped, glaring daggers at the small rock mocking him. He stood there, staring at it for several seconds before kicking it as hard as he could. Remembering it was a stone, he instinctively cringed but then noticed his foot didn't hurt. "...What in goddesses' names?" Link muttered. He made no note of it and turned away, ready to mount his horse and head home. It was getting dark and the last thing he wanted to deal with was a monster. As if a prank from the goddess, Link saw three bulbins approaching the ranch. "Thanks alot, Farore." Link said before drawing his sword. He identified the three creatures' weapons. Two of them had swords while one of them carried a bow. "Alright. This'll be interesting." Link said, twirling his sword in his hand.

The archer quickly noticed Link and let out a cry to warn his two comrades to attack. Link knew he had to eliminate him first as it would be attempting to shoot him while he's fighting the other two. And that would not be good. Fighting outnumbered is one thing, but fighting outnumbered with an arrow in your arm is another thing. He charged towards the archer at break-neck speed, only to be cut off by the two warriors. One of them swung at Link and he blocked it, breaking his run. The other one swung at a distracted Link, only for his attack to be dodged. "Two on one, eh? I thought you creatures had at least a sense of kindness." Link mused. He got simply a growl in return, as bulbins were incapable of speech. Or at least the dumber ones were. "Oh well." Link said before separating his sword into two swords, both with a now finer blade. "Have at me, ye bloody goblins!" Link taunted, hoping to have the two creatures make the first move. His taunt was heard as he saw the archer nock an arrow. Link also saw one of the sword wielders heading towards him. Hmm... arrow soon to come this way, bulbin approaching the same place the arrow is headed... Perfect situation. Link pivoted to the side, anticipating the direction of the arrow and the direction the bulbin was headed. He dodged the warrior's sword slash and let the oncoming arrow fly right into the creature's back. The goblin let out a painful screech. "Ouch. You should probably get that checked out." Link teased. This simply enraged the bulbin with an arrow in his back, causing him to charge towards Link. He anticipated the attack, dodging it effortlessly and grabbing the creature into a full nelson, using it as a human shield for the next arrow that was coming. Even for brainless beasts, these things were more idiotic than they should be. The second arrow did it for the bulbin, as it fell limp in Link's hold. He threw the dead bulbin to the side and pulled his sword, splitting it into two thinner, duller blades. What sorcery made them duller was beyond him. Link was focused on the archer, keeping the sword wielder coming at him in his sights. He clutched one of his two blades tight and threw the other directly at the archer's chest, quickly whipping around to face the second bulbin. Link deflected the oncoming sword slash, flipping the weapon over to bash the creature over the head. _"Looks like my intense training did __pay off__."_Link thought while kicking the goblin in the chest and dashing away to the archer to plunge his second sword directly into it's chest, tackling it at the same time. He retrieved both of his swords from the dead carcass of the bulbin and turned to the warrior, which was still trying to shake off a sword hilt to the skull. A kick didn't exactly help in his favor either so killing the thing was child's play.

"Is that all? I was beginning to have some fun with that fight." Link mused, hoping Malon was around to hear. Link's wishes went unfulfilled as there was no one nearby from what Link could see. He sighed and clasped his two swords back into one and practically tossed it back into its sheath. He then turned to mount his horse but was stopped by a voice.

_You there... Gerudo boy. _

Link immediately unsheathed his sword, whipping around searching for the source of the voice. "Who's there?" Link snapped at whatever was there.

_There is no need for violence, Hero of Legend. I am a friend. _

"Friends don't scare the living crap out of other friends..." Link muttered, sheathing his sword. "And what do you mean by 'Hero of Legend'?"

_You bear the mark of the goddesses. Do you not? _

"I have a Farore statue if that's what you mean. Oh and before we continue this conversation, where are you?" Link asked, still searching for the source of the strange voice.

_Ah, right. I suppose I should reveal myself. _

Just then Link could see a grand red glow coming from behind him. He whipped around to see a woman, no taller than Link's own self. She had 6 transparent wings protruding from her back. It kinda made her look like a fairy. Something that really caught Link's eye was the fact that she was mostly naked. She wore a small skirt and her breasts were only covered by the lengths of her hair. On top of all that, she was rather beautiful. "Holy Farore." Link muttered to himself, in awe of the figure that has just appeared before him.

_I am one of the Great Fairies of the goddesses.I am the Great Fairy of Courage. _

"Glowing triangles... bulbins... Great Fairies... This day just keeps getting weirder." Link said, throwing his hands up in the air.

_The glowing triangles you speak of is called the Triforce. It is a symbol of ultimate power left here by the goddesses. There are three bearers of each Triforce piece. The goddesses choose who obtains the Triforce pieces. _

Link was now beginning to connect the dots. "And I have the Triforce on my hand so..."

_Yes. You are the chosen one of the goddesses. _

"Wow. So I have ultimate power in my hands?!" Link exclaimed in happiness. "That is awesome!" He continued to cheer.

_No. You bear one piece of the Triforce. The Triforce of Courage. _

"Oh." Link said disappointedly. "Well, what are the other two pieces?"

_The other two chosen ones wield the Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Wisdom. _

"Wait... So they get a Triforce piece that gives them power, making them stronger... A Triforce piece that gives them wisdom, making them smarter... and I get a Triforce piece that makes me more courageous? Which just means I'll be less afraid of dying? Not fair." Link said with disdain.

_Hmph. How ungrateful. _

Link mentally slapped himself for what he had just said. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." He replied apologetically.

_No matter. Just listen closely, for what I am about to say will answer all questions you have about your current situation. Centuries long ago, Hyrule was endangered by one who sought out the Triforce to use for his own. The Hero of Legend was destined to stop him, and he along with the princess of Hyrule devised a plan to stop this wicked man. Their plan backfired however, as when the Hero completed his part of the plan, he proceeded to draw the Blade of Evil's Bane, opening a door to the realm where the Triforce was being held. The one who sought out the power of the Triforce was able to enter this sacred realm, in which he took the Triforce for his own. _

"Sounds awful." Link said, trying to pay attention to the story.

_Indeed it was. However, the Triforce was split into three pieces, as this man was not fit to wield the full power of it. Instead, the Triforce of Power was given to him, the Triforce of Courage given to the Hero, and the Triforce of Wisdom given to the princess. _

"Well that's fine and dandy, put that doesn't answer why it's on my hand." Link snapped back, showing the back of his left hand.

_Do you not see, Link? You are the reincarnation of that same hero. A hero you once were. Now your fate is clouded. _

"Clouded by what?" Link asked

_All reincarnations of the hero were Hylians. All of them living simple lives, waiting for their destiny to come. As the goddesses intended. But, as if some prank of the goddesses, you were born a Gerudo, a thief. A hero you once were, but not now. Not in this life. _

"I was a Hylian before? I... I don't believe it." Link was absolutely dumbstruck by this. He was not only chosen by the goddesses, but he was a hero in a past life? "Am I the same Hero of Time Malon told me about?"

_Yes. You are that same hero. It is your destiny to save Hyrule from the wickedness of the bearer of power. To do this, you will need the legendary blade of evil's bane. _

"I get to use _**THAT **_sword?!" Link exclaimed in elation. Had you been listening to the conversation as of now, you wouldn't believe he was confused a second ago.

_Hold your haste, Hero of Legend. As I said before, your fate is clouded. _

"You know, you keep saying that, but I have no idea what you mean." Link said, annoyed.

_You will learn in time. Go to the south. There you will find a vast forest. Deeper inside it, you will find a village untouched by time. Itself and the denizens alike. Within, you shall find the Sage of Forest who aided the Hero of Time in his quest. She will lead you to your first trial. _

"Trial? Trial for what?" Link snapped, once again confused.

_Six trials you have. Each enlightening you in the way of the Hero. When you complete all six trials, you may wield the Master Sword. Until then, it will reject you as it's master. _

"Picky sword..." Link muttered under his breath. "And what of my home? What of Gerudo Valley?" Link asked with concern.

_All heroes had to leave the place they called home. You must do the same. _

Link was silent. He was not fond of leaving behind all his friends. The people whom he called family. He didn't have a choice in the matter but that doesn't mean he was happy about it.

_Fret not. You will come back to your __home__._

"You say that as if it's a fact." Link retorted, not believing he was getting the truth.

_This is because it is a fact. Believe me or not, you are to go where I have instructed. Complete your trial there, and you will meet another of my kind. _

"Whatever you say." Link turned to mount his horse so he could head to the forest as told. "By the way..." Link started as he turned back around "where did you come from anyways?"

_The gossip stones scattered around Hyrule are not only to aid the Sheikah, but are places of surveillance, if you will for fairies. We are able to see what happens in that area through them. I witnissed your little skirmish with the bulbins. From the way you fought, I knew you were the reincarnation of the Hero of Time. _

"The Hero of Time used dual swords, threw his swords at his opponents, an used said opponents as human shields? Makes sense." Link retorted, mounting his horse. Without another word, he giddied his steed onwards to the south.


	5. Ganondorf

The captain of the royal guard walked out of the king's room, making sure there was no blood on his blade, nor any evidence of the king's killer. "Triforce on my hand, check. King dead, check." Ganondorf said sadistically, checking off his imaginary list. "Now time to get this show on the road." He proceeded to princess Zelda's room where she seemed deep in thought. He smiled to himself as he entered the room.

Zelda looked up from her small statue of Nayru and turned to the entrance of her room. "Hello, captain. Is there something you need?" She asked kindly.

Ganondorf immediately put on an expression of fake sorrow when she looked at him. He pretended to be as sad as possible, before he finally said "Princess... I am sorry to inform you but when I walked into the king's room today, he was dead." He drawled out the last part hesitantly to further encourage the little charade.

"W-what?" Zelda stuttered in disbelief "He's really dead?"

"Yes. I'm very sorry. The cause of his death was a blade wound. Likely from the Gerudo boy we had in our custody. Unfortunately, we cannot go to Gerudo Valley and arrest him as he is outside of Hyrule, and outside of our power." Ganondorf said, no longer keeping his fake sadness in his voice. "I promise, we will do everything we can to have him brought to justice." He added, trying to sound sincere.

Zelda was normally not the type to lose her composure but this news brought her to tears. It almost made Ganondorf feel bad. Though he showed no emotion and continued to keep his eyes on a crying Zelda, waiting for her response. It was a minute or two before Zelda finally rose from her seat and wiped her eyes dry. "Leave me now, Ganondorf. Please." Zelda finally said solemnly. He obeyed, walking out of her room. If she didn't know better, she would have thought she saw Ganondorf smile on his way out. She shrugged and turned back to her small statue of Nayru. "Golden goddesses... Give me the power to avenge my father..." She prayed to the figure. Just then the mark on her hand shone brightly. Zelda was enveloped in a bright light for several seconds before the light finally faded. The now frantic Zelda looked down at her hands to see there were not gloves on it anymore, but gauntlets. Panicking, Zelda looked up at the mirror that was above her desk to see she was not staring back at Zelda Harkinan, but a red eyed man. Or woman? She couldn't really tell. She opened her mouth to gasp but noticed her mouth was loosely covered by bandages, all bundled to look like a mask. She was no longer wearing a dress, but a skin tight blue garment. There was some light armour in addition to this, such as pauldrons and a chestplate. More interestingly, the mark of the Sheikah was on the breastplate. Lastly, her long blonde hair was tied back into a braid. She also had a kodachi on her belt.

"W-what... What is this?" Zelda asked herself in her new, deeper voice. One could say the voice sounded unisex, making it impossible to figure out the gender of Zelda in her new voice. _"Wow... I look like a Sheikah." _Zelda thought. _"This is the gift that was bestowed upon me?" _Zelda let out a groan of slight annoyance. _"This is all so confusing... The Triforce has chosen me, and now by some magic I've turned into a Sheikah?"_ Zelda pondered in silence for the next few minutes before deciding to try something out. Zelda now tried to focus on using the power of the Triforce and then concentrated on not being a Sheikah, but being Zelda Harkinan. After several seconds of concentration, she finally was enveloped in the same bright light that changed her into this. Once the light faded, Zelda was staring back at her usual self in the mirror. "Hmm... I can use this to my advantage." Zelda muttered before sitting back down in her chair.

"Ellion. Send for Rusl. Make haste please." Ganondorf ordered the young guard that was positioned outside of the captain's room.

"Yes, sir." Ellion responded, practically dashing off to do said task. It's never wise to anger Ganondorf. Everybody learned that the hard way when a prisoner managed to escape. They say that same prisoner avoids Hyrule completely to this day.

It was not long before the young man came back with Rusl, the same guard who Ganondorf asked for, and the same guard that was in charge of watching Link when he was in custody. "You called for me, sir?" Rusl said, standing emotionless before the large man.

"Yes, that I did." Ganondorf responded, not looking up from his plan book. "Do you remember that Gerudo boy from yesterday?" Before Rusl could reply, Ganondorf looked up at his current expression that showed he was about to agree. "Ah, you do. Wonderful." Ganondorf was a strange man. He could get any answers he needed just by looking at the person. "I assume you remember what he looks like. Am I correct?" This time, he didn't want to bother to look up to get his answer. His plan book was more interesting.

"Yes, of course." Rusl responded, still emotionless.

"Good. Go down to the artist's department and describe the boy to the lead artist." Ganondorf said, still not looking up.

"Yes sir, but may I ask why?"

"I found King Harkinan dead in his room today. A few witnesses confirmed that... what was his name..." Ganondorf said, failing to remember the name of said boy.

"It's Link, sir." Rusl finished for him. He shouldn't have said that so instinctively. Becoming friends with the prisoners wasn't exactly something Ganondorf is fond of.

"Ah yes, that. A few witnesses confirmed that Link went inside the castle. The king was found murdered in his room in the late afternoon yesterday, as I'm sure you're aware of." Ganondorf said, half looking up at Rusl.

"Yes, but are you implying that he killed the king?" Rusl asked, trying to hide the disbelief in his voice.

"Actually, yes. That's exactly what I'm saying." Ganondorf said coolly. "You always were a smart one, Rusl." He added with a smile. "Anyways, this is a great crime, obviously, so we have to make sure the people know we need him arrested. Who knows, if he put up enough wanted posters, we may capture him." Ganondorf turned back to his plans. Rusl still stood there in silence and disbelief until Ganondorf roused him from his stupor. "Well? Why are you still standing there? Get to it!" He shooed Rusl away.

"Y-yes sir." Rusl stuttered before turning and leaving the room. He was deep in thought all throughout the way down to the artist's department. _"This doesn't make sense. Gerudoes never have killed a Hylian in one of their raids, much less attacked someone like the King..." _Rusl thought to himself _"I guess they're unpredictable." _He finally made it to where the lead artist was and hesitantly said "I have need of an illustration of a criminal captain Ganondorf is looking for."

"Alright." The artist said "Can you describe him for me, please?"

"Y-yes."

_"Gerudo boy framed, check."_ Ganondorf thought as he saw Rusl walk out of his office. _"Time to get the rest of the Triforce. Zelda should have already realized the power of the Triforce."_ Ganondorf looked down at the Triforce piece on his hand now glowing. "Hehehehe... Perfect. At this rate, both the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage will be together yet again as fate predicted. And as wielder of power, it is my fate to wipe out the other wielders and take the Triforce for my own." His Triforce piece now glowed brighter. "Hyrule shall be mine to rule..."


	6. Kokiri Village

**A/N I know. I haven't done ANY of this story in forever... I'm sorry, one follower! D: I'll try to update more often. Life is kinda just being complicated... Well, here's chapter six**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, nor am I affiliated with Nintendo.**

Chapter Six, Kokiri Village

Link had taken the word of the Great Fairy of Courage and set out on his journey to the Faron Woods. He stopped by Hyrule Castle Town and thought that it would be wise to purchase a potion in case he got into trouble. The Gerudoes were not as well-informed on potions as the Hylians were but they knew enough to know that potions are helpful. When Link entered Hyrule Castle Town, he tethered his horse near the front gate and proceeded forward. He noticed that a few Hylians were looking at him funny but didn't ask about it. As he proceeded forward towards the marketplace, he got more strange looks and noticed a few commoners were muttering amongst themselves. When Link finally made it to the stand which sold potions he held up his hand to wave at the shopkeeper, bringing said shopkeeper to cringe and reel back. "Uhhh... What is it?" Link asked, confused beyond explanation. Why was everyone looking at him? On top of that, why was the shopkeeper afraid of him? "Look, can I please just buy a red potion?" Link said, trying his best not to sound angry or irritated. The shopkeeper nodded nervously and bent down to grab a bottle, while something at the back of the stand caught Link's eye. There was a wanted poster there. Not just any wanted poster, but one of him! "Uh-oh." Link breathed, turning on his heel to get out of there.

Link dashed out of the marketplace, heading towards where he left his horse. With the way he was running, a horse was barely needed. He shoved any Hylians out of his way and dodged any blows from pursuing guards. "If I see Ganondorf I'm in trouble..." Link muttered as he continued to bolt out of Hyrule Castle Town faster than any horse could run. When he was nearing the gate, he took a quick look around and noticed a figure resting on a roof. He was moving too fast to get a good look, but he could have sworn the figure was some kind of ninja. Ignoring this, he quickly mounted his horse, cutting off the rope binding the steed with his blade. He tapped the horse's side to get it to gallop. Once the mount could comprehend what Link wanted it to do, he geared the animal into a swift run. "I know you're confused girl, but just run!" Link shouted to his horse. It understood and began to run a bit faster. "I guess I'm not getting that potion." Link joked, holding onto his horse for dear life.

By the time Link made it to the Faron Woods, it was nearing dawn. He wasn't the least bit tired, but his horse sure was. "Sorry 'bout that, girl." Link said, dismounting his exhausted steed. "You know the way back to Gerudo Valley from here, right?" The horse whinnied in response, seeming to answer "yes". "Good. Head back there and get some rest. I'll make my way back in a few days or so." Link said back, patting the steed lightly on the nose. The horse licked Link affectionately in reply, turning away to go home. Once she was out of sight, Link turned towards the vast woods he knew nothing about. Without another moment wasted, Link drew his sword and ran forward, into the woods.

There was certainly much to see in the woods, many beautiful plants and grand scenery. Unfortunately, there were also a few pesky monsters for Link to take care of. One being a Deku Baba, as he recalled hearing about from Rei. They were pretty annoying creatures. They would pop out of the ground and try to bite you. And when they do bite, they do not let go. It's just awful. One bit onto Link's leg. He didn't cringe or cry out, instead he simply chopped the thing in half. When it died, the head hardened and shrank into some type of nut. "Eh?" Link said, looking at the strange nut. He picked it up and looked at it closely. "Must be scrap..." Link muttered and tossed the nut away. It hit the ground and made a loud sound along with a blinding flash. Unfortunately, Link was looking at it when it hit the ground. "AH! CURSE YOU, FOREST!" Link exclaimed, covering his eyes. It took a few seconds before Link could see again and when he could, he was greeted by another Deku Baba sprouting out of the ground. He wasted no time slicing the creature in half and proceeded deeper into the forest.

Faron Woods certainly wasn't a place you'd want to be if you didn't know where you were going. And unfortunately, Link had no idea where he was going. He wandered the area for a good 30 minutes before finding the slightest hint of civilization. A sign. "Please have a map on you..." Link begged as he neared the sign. Although, his begs went unanswered as the sign had none but an arrow pointing to a spring. "Farore, you seem to like picking on me, don't you?" Link breathed, annoyed. He followed the arrow to the spring which seemed to glow an eerie, golden colour. "Scratch that, you love picking on me." Link said, examining the spring intently. He stepped forward so that his feet were touching the water. As soon as he did, he felt what seemed to be all of his strength returning to him. "Nice spring." Link mused, turning around to continue his journey to the "village untouched by time".

* * *

After walking past a billion trees and defeating about 4 Deku Babas, Link made it to a small shack. "I swear if whoever lives here can't help me..." Link muttered as he stepped towards the door before knocking on it. No answer. He knocked again. A bird chirped. "Farore if I die during this quest, you will be the first goddess I will yell at." Link sighed. As he said that, he heard the sound of a tree branch falling. "Who's there?" Link shouted, unsheathing his trusty blade. "Up here." Link heard from on top of a tree. Resting on a sturdy tree limb, holding an apple it's hand, was a man. Seeming likely a few years older than Link, if not his age and wearing an outfit that classified his as what the Gerudo called a ranger. He held a bow in his free hand, and had a belt strapped at his waist, keeping a pouch, a knife, and other survival tools secured. "Strange. I thought Farore was supposed to be a goddess." Link called up at the ranger, keeping his sword ready.

"And I thought the chosen hero was supposed to be a Hylian." The man snapped back, smirking.

Link mentally winced at this, even though he knew it was only a joke. What would he do if people knew he was a hero, though? Brushing these thoughts off, he asked the tree man, "Do you know if a village is nearby?"

He smirked again and hopped down from his spot on the tree. "Well, there is a rumor that there's an ancient village somewhere here." The man said, jostling the apple in his hand. "But no one's ever found it. I'm here to change that." He added proudly.

Link liked this guy. He was cocky, but he was also determined. "Hate to break it to you, pal, but the person's who's gonna change that," Link started, sheathing his sword before pointing a thumb at himself, "it's gonna be me."

"Who says we can't share the title?" The man laughed.

"I'm a Gerudo. We don't share." Link retorted jokingly.

"Then you could have two titles to add." Tree-boy said.

"Hmmm... Tempting." Link replied, stroking his imaginary beard pretending to be deep in thought. "Fine. Let's go." He said after a few moments, stepping forward with an extended arm. "I'm Link, by the way."

The ranger also stepped forward, meeting Link's hand with his own and shook it. "I'm Joel."

And so, the two were off.

* * *

"So, got any family?" Joel asked Link while they were walking through the forest.

"No. Parents dead and no siblings." Link responded coolly. "You?"

"Uh... Yeah I got some parents back in Hyrule but I don't see them much." Joel said, a bit uncomfortable with how easy it was for Link to say his parents were dead. He looked forward and noticed that there was nothing but a wall in front of them. "Damn. Dead end." Joel hissed, turning back around to walk away.

"No..." Link muttered, stepping forward, closer to the wall. "It's a hidden village, right?" Link asked which was replied with a nervous nod. "So we gotta look past basic appearances." He touched the wall and moved his hand over it slowly, looking for some type on secret on it. As he searched it with his hand, he noticed an odd symbol covered by some greenery. "What do we have here?" He mused, pushing the vines out of the way to get a better look at the symbol.

"That's it!" Joel exclaimed in elation. "That's the symbol of the ancient village!"

Link chuckled at Joel's over-enthusiasm. "Wait a sec, pal. We've only found a symbol. We don't know if it means anyth-" Link was then cut off by a harsh glowing coming from the hand that was scanning the wall, his left hand. The same hand that always glowed and burned. "Son of a wolfos..." Link swore under his breath, hoping that Joel wouldn't see the glowing. He turned around to see the ranger shielding his eyes from the bright light.

"Hey! What did you do, drop a Deku Nut?!" He exclaimed, still shielding his eyes.

_"Huh. So that's what those blasted things were called."_ Link thought. "Yeah, sorry about that..." He lied, trying not to raise any suspicion from Joel. He went back to inspecting the wall, this time with his right hand instead and found that the symbol had disappeared and was replaced with the Triforce glowing faintly. "It seems that Deku Nut did something..." Link joked as he walked closer to the mystical wall.

"Link, I don't think you should be getting too close to that wall." Joel breathed out in fear.

"Pfft. You Hylians are such babies." Link mused with the cockiness of a true Gerudo. "It's just a wall. It's not gonna bite." He said as he continued towards the wall. Just then, as if Farore wanted to mess with him again, his path was enveloped in a blinding white light and Link was knocked back onto his behind by some force.

"You were saying?" Joel laughed, looking down at the defeated Gerudo.

"You will tell no one of what transpired here." Link groaned, getting up from his grassy seat and looked for the wall, but saw no such thing. Instead, in place of the wall, he saw a new path leading further into the forest. "Actually doing something helpful for once, Farore?..." Link muttered under his breath. "Come on, Joel." And so, the two ventured into the depths of the forest.

**Faron Depths**

"Oh great. More trees." Link said sardonically. "How do you Hylians put up with this?" He added, making yet another joking insult on Joel's kind.

"Simple. There are no trees in Hyrule Field." Joel retorted, smiling.

"Lies! I saw at least 20 of the wretched things!" Link exclaimed in retaliation. Joel laughed at the boy's hate for trees. Link was about to spew another insult towards trees, but abruptly stopped walking. "Joel. Weapon. Now." He hissed, drawing his own sword.

Joel swiftly pulled out his bow and nocked an arrow onto it, preparing for whatever force Link had sensed. "What are we defending against, now?"

"I don't know exactly. I just feel something..." Link said. _"Goddesses, I must sound crazy right now. But what is that sense of foreboding? I can literally feel the tension in the air..." _Link thought, raising his sword higher.

"Link, I don't know what you're sensing, but if it's really that dangerous, you're going to need this." Joel said before pulling a shield out of his pack and handing it to Link. It was a cheap shield, made out of wood. It was, however, fairly sturdy. It would require more than just a few hits to break it.

Link thanked Joel as he took the shield into his right hand and rose it, further preparing for battle. The two waited for several seconds before Link finally broke the silence. "Joel. By any chance, do you know why no one has ever found this village? Because I doubt that wall was what kept everyone out."

"Well, no one who's ever come close to finding the village has ever come back to tell the tale." Joel replied, bow still in hand.

"I was afraid you'd say that." Link sighed. Sheathing his blade, he gestured for Joel to wait where he was and stepped forward, further into the tension charged woods. _"Come on, you evil whatever. Take the bait..." _After a few more steps, the ground began to shake.

"Wh-whoa! What is th-that!" Joel shouted, trying to keep his balance.

Link didn't provide an answer and instead, stood still as if nothing was happening. A few seconds of tremors later, a Deku Baba sprouted out of the ground. "Really?!" Link laughed "That's the big bad monster?! Ahahahahaha!" Joel also lowered his weapon and joined Link in laughter. To be honest, it was quite hilarious how they were scared of such a little thing. "Alright, let's go, Baba." Link said, drawing his blade dramatically and walking towards the plant. As he neared it, more tremors occurred. "W-w-whoa!" Link exclaimed "What the h-heck!" The small Deku Baba disappeared and now another sprouted in place of it. Only this one was gigantic.

"Holy Nayru!" Joel shouted, fleeing the scene, leaving Link there alone.

"Yeah, thanks Joel!" Link called back at the cowardly ranger. "I guess this is why no one has ever found the village..." Link muttered as he raised his sword and shield and prepared for a battle.

_**Gargantuan Forest Fiend**_

_**Venus Baba**_

The first move that the giant Deku Baba made was a charge directly at Link. Since he knew that he couldn't dodge an attack made by such a large enemy, he thrust his shield at the head of the plant, deflecting it's attack and in turn disorienting it. "Nice one. My turn." Link said as he charged towards the large plant and hacked away at it's stem, if you could call it that, breaking off some of the armour-like coating. As soon as the plant regained it's sense, Link jumped back to avoid getting gobbled up. Turns out that this Baba had something that could be called a brain as it didn't charge at Link again, instead it make snake-like movements and attempted to constrict Link. This attack managed to connect, as Link was now choking in its grasp, trying to free himself. "Joel! Do something!" He called out in between coughs, hoping that his new friend had regained some courage and came back to aid Link. His prayers answered, he heard the sound of an arrow whizzing in the air, followed by the piercing scream of the giant Baba. Wait, Deku Babas have vocal chords? Whether they did or not, Link was freed from the grasp of the creature, dropping to the ground only to be met by the face of the previously fleeing ranger. "Miss me?" Joel laughed as he helped Link up from the ground. "No. I just liked living." Link mused. By the time the two were done joking, the giant Baba was up and ready to attack Link again. This time it went for a straight on attack at Joel, but feinted and went for Link at the last moment. "Hey! Only I'm allowed to do tricks!" Link shouted as he jumped up onto the Venus Baba's large bulb and ran across it until he reached the stem, once again hacking away at the armour. This time he cut away enough to the point where the stem was revealed and could be cut, but before he could deliver the finishing blow, the plant threw Link off. He yelled as he started falling down to earth, only to be met with the jaws of the forest beast. "I hate you, Farore!" Link shouted as he awaited death's grip in the form of jaws. Instead of being chewed to pieces, Link found himself inside of the giant Baba's mouth, away from the teeth. "Well, this is comfy but I have no intention of staying here." He said as he began to slice away at the inside of the monster's mouth. After three or so slashes, it finally let go of Link where he came crashing to the ground this time, knocking the air out of him. "Link, you alive?" Joel asked, firing arrows at the horrible plant. "Yep. Still alive." He choked out, standing up. "Alright. No more games." Link said as he strapped his shield to his back before splitting his sword into two. The Venus Baba tried a new attack, which was slamming its giant head into the ground, not aiming for anyone in particular, however the shock-wave confused Link and Joel alike. "C-c-curse yo-ou, pla-a-ant!" Link said, still trying to get rid of his dizziness from the shock-wave. Not wasting a single moment, the plant tried to constrict Link yet again, but before it could get a hold of him, he shook off the confusion and dodged the attack, causing the Baba to ram into itself, yet again disorienting it. "Not so smart, is it?" Joel called up to Link. "Nope." He replied before rushing up to the stem of the plant to finish it once and for all. He crossed his blades into an X shape and as soon as he was close enough to the stem, he separated them, cutting the blasted creature in half. "It's over." Link breathed, reforming his blades into one and sheathing it.

As the creature turned black and faded into dust, the forest seemed to lose the evil feeling that Link sensed earlier, not only that but it seemed to have a different look now, almost identical to the eerie glow of the spring that Link found back in Faron Woods. "I think that was a test to see who is worthy of entering the village." Link suggested. Joel nodded in agreement, lowering his bow.

"That would be correct." A voice called from deeper in the forest.

"Oh lovely, another mysterious spirit." Link muttered. "Who are you?"

"My name is Saria. I am the one you seek, Link."

"Oh. So... you're not a spirit?" Link asked dumbly, paying no attention to the confused ranger behind him.

"That I am not." Saria called back. "Come, brave Gerudo, and you as well, adventurous ranger. Enter the secret village of the Kokiri."

Link looked back at Joel to confirm that he was coming. After a few moments of thinking, Joel nodded and stepped forward, deeper into the mysterious woods. Link followed him further.

**Kokiri Village**

As soon as the two entered, they took in the sight of the mystical village. It was said that the Hero of Time lived here before he set out on his quest to save Hyrule. It was truly a nice place. There was a river flowing through the entire village, deep enough for a child to swim in, but shallow enough for an adult or a teenager to stand in. There were a few trees here and there, but they were about the size of a small house, with a thick trunk that Link presumed to be hollowed out. He marveled at the village for a few moments before Saria spoke up.

"Link. Come with me, please. Your friend can wait here."

"That okay with you, Joel?" Link said, turning to his ranger friend, to see that he was not there, but examining the tree houses intently. "Oh my goodness." Link chuckled before turning back to Saria, ready to follow her.

"I see you are ready. Follow me, please."

Link followed the girl in silence for the first few seconds, until curiosity got the best of him. "Saria, not to be rude but why are you so short?" Link blurted out.

Saria giggled a bit before answering his question. "I am a member of the Kokiri race. We are destined to remain children our entire lives, never aging."

"Untouched by time..." Link muttered, quoting the Great Fairy.

"Indeed. It is quite a luxury at times, but it can also be burdensome for us. Though who am I to complain as the Sage of Forest." She chuckled, still leading Link to Din knows where.

"Trust me, being old isn't a big party." Link replied. Before he could get into an explanation of puberty and how awful it was, Saria stopped in front of a tree house.

"We are here." She said, turning back to Link. "Enter."

Link stood there for several seconds before obeying Saria and climbing the wooden ladder to enter the small tree house. He moved the sheet in front of the entrance out of the way and walked into the hollowed out tree. As he entered, a strange feeling of nostalgia washed over him, as if he had been here before. "What is this place?..." Link asked Saria, who was making her way to the top of the ladder.

"This is the home of the Hero of Time." She answered. "Your ancient ancestor."

No wonder he felt like he knew this place. "Well that's nice, but why am I here? I thought I was supposed to go through some type of awakening as a hero or something like that."

"That you are, however to fully awaken as a hero, you must revisit lands of the past." Saria began. "This is but the first of many places you are to venture to. One upon the large Death Mountain, home of the Gorons. One under the grand Lake Hylia, home of the Zoras. One in the resting site of the dead, in Kakariko Village. One in your own land, far off from the usual boundaries of the Gerudo Desert. One upon the frozen mountain of Snowpeak, and one in a temple that transcends time itself."

"Wait, including this forest that would be seven places. I thought I only had to go through six trials." Link asked.

"A hero must be prepared for any change in plan." She said matter-of-factually with a smirk.

"Stupid destiny..." Link muttered under his breath. "Whatever. Where am I headed now?"

"You are to revisit the forest temple, where your ancestor destroyed the evil forces inside and awakened me as the Sage of Forest." Saria said, turning away from Link. If he didn't know better, he would have thought she was blushing when she stated the last part.

"Alright." Link said, standing up from the small bed and walked towards the exit. "Oh yeah, can Joel come with me? He's kind of a life-saver." Link asked, turning back to the short Sage.

"He may. However, know this. The path to the forest is not an easy one. You must venture through the ancient woods to the Sacred Meadow where the temple is located." She stated, regaining her composure.

"More woods? Not a problem." Link mused proudly with overconfidence.

"These are no ordinary woods. If one enters them, not knowing his path, he will be lost and forever destined to become a warrior of darkness, also known as a Stalfos." Saria replied, crushing all confidence that Link had going.

"O-oh." He stuttered. "So, how do I find the right path?"

"Let the mark of the goddesses lead you."

"Mark of the goddesses..." Link muttered, confused. "Wait, you mean the Triforce?" He asked, waving his left hand.

"Yes. The Triforce shall lead you to the correct path." Saria said calmly. "You will find the lost woods not far from this village, the entrance being on a ledge nearby."

"Alright. Thanks, Saria." Link called back as he jumped out the exit from the tree house.

"Anytime, Link." She said smiling.

"Joel! We're leaving! Come on!" Link shouted as he searched the village for his friend.

"What?!" He heard a voice from above a tree. "We just got here!" Joel was shouting from on top of the largest tree house in the village.

"Don't worry, we're going to go further in the village. Now come on!" Link lied, trying to get Joel to come along.

"Oh, okay!" Joel called back, believing Link's lie as he jumped down from the tree.

"Gotta love how gullible Hylians are." Link muttered under his breath.

**Lost Woods**

"Where in the world?..." Joel breathed out from behind Link as the two entered the mysterious woods. There were four paths that they could go, including the path that they just came from, and the rest of what they could see was a mass of trees surrounding the area.

"Well, it seems that we can go left into the trees, right into the trees, straight into the trees, or back the way we came and go home." Link mused as he scanned the area.

"I vote straight." Joel said, going forward into the woods. He disappeared into the over-sized hollow log for a few moments before he showed up right behind Link. "What in the-"

"It's forest magic. Don't question it." Link said, stepping forward into the middle of the four paths. "Come on, Farore..." He muttered under his breath. "If you're gonna help me anytime, do it now." As he was done praying, or rather whispering frustratingly, his hand began to burn again. It didn't glow, however which Link found odd. _Let the mark of the goddesses lead you. _Saria's voice chimed in Link's head as a reminder. Link stepped forward towards one path, and nothing happened. He turned around and walked that way and then his hand began to glow faintly, as if a sign that he was headed the right way. "Thank you, Farore." Link mused as he walked forwards into the path.

* * *

After about ten minutes of path searching, Link and Joel made their way to the "Sacred Meadow", where they both stopped to take in the sight of it all. They were cut short, however by the sound of howling. Standing in front of them was a large wolf, likely about four feet tall. It growled for a second or two before lunging at Link. "No!" Link snapped, bashing the wolf with the hilt of his sword. "Bad wolf!" After the wolf regained its sense, it got back up and dashed at Link from the ground to try and bite him, only to be met with a blade to the head. "I warned you." Link scolded the dead wolf.

"That was a Wolfos." Joel said. "They're not too common in the forest... Though around Hyrule Field, these bastards are everywhere."

"Good to know. Let's go on." Then the two walked through the Sacred Meadow path up to the location of the temple. "Stairs? Guess we're here." Link said as he walked up the stairs with Joel following behind him. "It's peaceful here..." Link noted.

"Indeed it is." Joel agreed.

_"Why does this place feel so familiar?... I feel like I've seen this somewhere..." _Link thought. _"Like, in some kind of dream or something."_ Link looked around for any other feelings of nostalgia when he noticed a platform in the ground. _"That's it! My dream back in Gerudo Valley!"_ He exclaimed mentally. _"So, if this place looks like that place in my dream... then I must be in the right place... Right?"_ Link's thoughts were then cut off by the sound of Joel's voice.

"Hey look! There's something up there!"

"Looks like a temple." Link said. "How are we supposed to get up there?"

"Well, there is a tree branch hanging above the entrance. Do you have a grappling hook or something?" Joel suggested.

"Nope." Link sweat-dropped. "Hmmm... Ah! Your bow!"

"What about my bow?" Joel asked, removing his trusty weapon from his back.

"I have an idea. Do you have any rope or string?" Link demanded.

"Well, yeah but I-"

"Give it here!" Link snapped. Joel obeyed, and once the rope was in his hands, he seized an arrow from Joel's quiver and began to tie the rope onto the back of the arrow. When he was done, he gave the arrow back to Joel. "Shoot this arrow at the branch." Link ordered. Once again, Joel obeyed and now the two had a makeshift grappling hook to climb up on.

"Wow, Link. That was pretty clever. You got the Triforce of Wisdom or something?" Joel mused before climbing up the rope.

"Nope. Just the Triforce of Courage..." Link muttered in a low voice. He waited for Joel to pass the rope back so he could climb up to the entrance of the temple. Once both of them were up, they stared at the entrance.

"You ready for this?" Joel asked, not turning to face Link.

"Yeah." Link replied, doing the same. And with that, the duo stepped forward into the temple's mouth.

**A/N FRICKING FINALLY! This chapter hated me for so long... But I finally finished it!**

**So, yeah. Read, review, and you get a virtual cookie. Chapter seven will be the Forest Temple.**

**That's all for now. B1NARD1, out.**


	7. Trials of Awakening: Forest Part One

**A/N Herro, people of fanfiction and other places. I just wanted to thank my two reviewers Miss Ashlynn and madlink007 as they told me what they didn't find right or what they didn't like, and that will help me to make this story better for you all. :D**

**Oh, and good news. My happiness meter is through the roof because I have been working to get this story made into a Zelda game. Obviously it wouldn't be official, but still having it as a video game is something I want. Anywho, I found someone who can actually help me develop this into a game. :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, nor am I affiliated with Nintendo.**

**Now that that's done with, ON TO THE CHAPPIE, CHAPS!**

Chapter 7: Trials of Awakening, Forest Part One

Link and Joel took one step into the temple and the first thing they saw was not a building, surprisingly but a small green garden in front of them with two trees that seems to have no leaves and only one branch. On the other side of the garden, there were stairs leading up to a door. The two stepped forward to the stairs before they were stopped by the sound of growling. Link immediately looked around the area, his eyes landing on the two trees first to see two Wolfos stalking them from the branches above. "Joel! Wolves, up top!" Link called to his companion, unsheathing his blade. Joel looked up to the branches that Link was staring at to be met with the sight of the two beasts. The wolves jumped down, ready to attack their prey. "Pfft. Who do they think they are?" Link laughed, twirling his sword in hand.

"Well, they are Wolfos, one of the main predators of Hyrule." Joel said matter-of-factually, nocking an arrow onto his bow, ready to snipe the slowly creeping creatures.

"Well... er... Shut up, Joel." Link muttered in defeat, still keeping his battle stance ready. One wolf pounced at Link while the other dashed towards Joel. Link readied his shield to block the oncoming attack when his focus was broken by Joel's voice.

"Link! Watch it! Alone, they're nothing, but together, they can trick you pretty damn well!"

_"How did he manage to say all that and the Wolfos haven't reached us yet?" _Link thought. Just then, the Wolfos that Link thought was going for him jumped off of his shield and headed towards Joel, and the wolf that was dashing towards Joel changed course and was now headed towards Link. "Whoa!" Link shouted, barely avoiding the teeth of a fierce Wolfos. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Joel's arrow stuck in one of the trees, implying that he missed the Wolfos and was now fighting with it. Link redirected his attention to the angry Wolfos that he had just dodged and sliced at its tail. It let out a cry, but it wasn't dead yet. It swiftly turned around and jumped at Link, only to be met with a shield to the face followed by a sword. **Now** it was dead. Link looked over to see that Joel had killed his Wolfos as well.

"Well, that was fun wasn't it..." Joel said sarcastically.

"Yep!" Link chimed like a happy 5 year old boy who just got a bag of candy. He walked forward, leaving behind a bewildered Joel.

"...I will never understand Gerudoes." Joel muttered to himself as he followed Link through the door.

**Forest Temple**

The temple interior was grand. There was what seemed to be an elevator in the middle of the room surrounded by torches, all of them glowing a different colour expect for one of them. There was a sole torch that wasn't lit, standing out like a green thumb from the others. Besides that, past the elevator there were more stairs, go figure, towards yet another door. To the left of the room, there was yet another door with stairs, except this one was locked. To the right, there was a door again but this one was on a balcony instead of a stair led platform. There were also two alcoves at the end of the room, both with likely another door. On top of all this, the entire temple had an eerie feel to it, as if there was a ghost lurking about.

"Wait a second..." Joel breathed. "This looks like something I've seen before."

_"Maybe he's the one who should be here." _Link mused in his thoughts. He noticed Joel pulling a piece of paper with what seemed to be a drawing on it. Link couldn't get a closer look, but from what he could see, it seemed as though Joel was holding a drawing of the temple in front of them.

"This is it!" Joel exclaimed. "Link! You've led us to the ancient forest temple!"

"I have?" Link sweatdropped, stepping forward into the temple, letting Joel rest in awe. Joel stood there for a moment or two before snapping out of his trance and focusing on Link.

"Yes, you have. Now then, where should we go?" Joel inquired, finally out of his awed state.

"No clue, but I say we find a few items." Link suggested, eager to acquire something from this temple. He moved onward to the center of the room.

"Once again. I will never understand Gerudoes." Joel muttered as he followed Link.

"Hey, what gives?" Link exclaimed. "This elevator doesn't work!"

"That's odd." Joel said, scanning the room for any reason as to why it wouldn't work. "Maybe it's too old?"

"Doubt it. We're in a forest of tiny gnomes who never age. I guarantee that 99% of the things in here are magical." Link said, only to get a sigh from Joel.

"As ridiculous that sounds, you could be right." Joel responded flatly. "Hey, wait. There are four torches here but only three are lit. Maybe that's why?"

"You're telling me that the lack of light in that one spot is the reason why this elevator doesn't work."

"Well, the Hero of Time went through this same temple before and people say he had to light all four torches for this to work." Joel replied once again with more Hylian knowledge.

"Wonder how they found that out." Link murmured, grabbing an arrow from Joel's sheath and trying to light it on fire with one of the torches, to no avail. The torch seemingly danced the flame around the arrow, avoiding ignition. "Magical flames. I officially hate this forest." Link said, tossing the arrow away.

"Hey, that's precious ammunition!" Joel exclaimed, running to get the arrow back.

"Hey, arrow boy, do you know how the Hero of whatever managed to light the torches?" Link asked, facing Joel.

"Hero of Time. And no, I don't." The ranger replied, putting the arrow back in its quiver.

"Dammit." Link swore to himself. "Well, I say we go back to plan A. Finding some stuff." Link suggested. Though before he could get a confirm from Joel, his Triforce glowed in what seemed to be disapproval. _"You just cannot leave me alone, can you?" _Link thought frustrated. His hand was faced away from Joel, so the ranger didn't get suspicious at all. _"Okay, since you're here, you might as well help me." _Link thought, as if the Triforce was a person, turning back to see Joel inspecting the torches intently.

"I can't find any type of clue from these things, Link. Looks like we'll have to stick with plan A after all." Joel said, standing up from his position by the torches.

Not wanting his Triforce to burn a hole through his hand, Link spoke up. "There has to be some way we can make this work." Link bent over to inspect the elevator itself hoping to find a hint as to how to ignite the remaining torch. Instead of finding anything of the sort, he saw ancient Hylian markings engraved on the stone platform.

"Joel, what is this language? It looks nothing like Hylian or Gerudion." Link asked, not turning away from the engravings. Joel walked over and bent down by Link to get a better look.

"Ah, this is ancient Hylian. It's quite different from the Hylian language we speak today, but I think I may be able to decipher it." He looked closer at the markings to try and make out the words. "What in Hylia's name is this." Joel muttered. "It reads: _When the flames cast night, turn to Farore's divine light._"

_"Farore's divine light?" _Link thought. _"Does it mean I'm supposed to pray? Worth a try." _Link was never much for deities or goddesses, being a Gerudo and he never had much experience praying as the sand goddess never required much praise. Nevertheless, Link got down on his knees and put his hands together, before looking up to Joel and gesturing for him to do the same. Joel obeyed and joined Link. The two prayed in silence for several minutes before Link got up from his praying position. "Do you think that worked?" Link asked, glancing down to his faintly glowing Triforce for any signs of approval.

"Doesn't seem like it..." Joel groaned after a few moments.

"Well, crap." Link muttered. _"Farore's divine light... What in the world could that be?" _Link thought. His Triforce just then glowed a little lighter, not enough for Joel to see,but just enough for Link to notice. _"What the... Oh, of course. Farore's divine light, Triforce of Courage gives light, Farore is the goddess of courage... Well played, elevator." _Link laughed inwardly. _"So, turn to the Triforce, eh? Wonder if that means I'm supposed to let it lead me."_ Link wondered. His Triforce burned in agreement. _"Well, then. Lead the way, Farore." _"Joel, come on. I think I know where to go." Link called out.

The Triforce had a rather odd way of leading Link. He would wander around aimlessly and the more the Triforce burned, the closer he was getting to wherever he was to go. Joel chimed in from time to time, usually asking what Link was doing, or why they were walking around without a particular path.

**Transition because I'm too lazy to think of a dungeon scheme.**

"Link, really. What the hell are you doing? You've walked around this room for four minutes now." Joel asked, watching the Gerudo pace around the circle shaped room.

"I'm trying to find the right path." Link called back. _"Come on, you stupid thing. Help me out here." _Link said to the Triforce in his mind.

"There is no right path, Link. The door behind us locked and there's no other door to go through." Joel said, slightly annoyed.

"Well, it's not my fault that the temple wants to keep us prisoner!" Link retorted, equally as annoyed.

"I guess not, but I would have hoped that you had some way of getting out of here." Joel muttered, starting to calm down.

_But what should I expect from an idiot like you?_

"Ok, Joel if you're going to start insulting me, then how about you try to figure something out?" Link yelled, becoming more angry.

_As if you could, though. You're probably more of an idiot that you say I am._

"What the hell are you talking about?! You're the one who just insulted me!" Joel replied, losing his state of calmness.

Before Link could reply with something else, a voice that sounded vaguely like his called back to Joel.

_It wasn't an insult. It was a fact._

"Ok, what the hell, that wasn't my voice." Link said, transforming from anger to confusion.

"Oh, sure it wasn't." Joel responded, still angry at "Link."

"Joel, I'm telling the truth here." Link tried again.

"Well, whether you're telling the truth or not, I didn't even insult you to begin with!" Joel sighed, cloning Link's confusion.

_Awww, well I was hoping I could have a little more fun with you two. Oh_ _well._

"Joel, please tell me you heard that." Link said, unsheathing his blade and splitting it into two yet again.

"That I did."

_Hehehe! Look at you too! You're both soooooo worried!_

"More irritated than worried." Link muttered. "Now how about you show yourself so I can get to slashing?"

_Ooh, a bold one! Well, then, I accept your challenge, O stupid boy.! Hehehe!_

"Go to hell." Link breathed barely audible as he raised his dual swords, one in front of his body and the other above his head, a Gerudo custom of showing that one is ready for battle. He looked at Joel out of the corner of his eye to make sure that he was ready as well. The seasoned ranger already had his arrow nocked onto his bowstring and ready to fire.

**Paranormal Deceiver: Queen Poe**

With barely any more time to prepare, a large Poe materialized in front of the two men. They were unable to see its face as it had a large shawl covering its body. Unlike the Poes who did happen to have a shawl, this Poe's shawl was still intact. It was not torn nor tattered. Also unlike most Poes, this Poe had glaring purple eyes that pierced through the darkness of its shawl.

"Joel? What is this thing?" Link asked, slightly backing up.

"It seems to be a Poe, but it's unlike any Poe I've ever seen... It looks like something from when the Hero of Time was alive." The informed ranger replied.

"Well, Poe, I hope you're ready to die a second time." Link said with much more bravado.

_Ooh, a bold one. This should be fun._

Immediately, Link charged the Poe at breakneck speed, managing to surprise it a bit before it turned ethereal, making Link simply pass through it. When it re-materialized, Joel attempted to shoot an arrow at it, only given the same effect. "Looks like we can't get through this by simply attacking, Link." Joel said, nocking another arrow.

"Yeah, I noticed." Link muttered.

_Aww... that's a shame. Oh well. My turn!_

The large Poe began to swing its lantern wildly, attempting to hit Link with it. Instinctively, Link blocked the attack with his dual swords.

_Not so wise! Hehehe! _

Link's swords began to become engulfed in a eerie purple flame that creeped across the sword, nearing the hilt before Link tossed them to the side. "Joel! What the hell is happening?! My swords are on fire!" Link exclaimed, trying to dodge the Poe's attacks.

"It's a jinx, Link! Poe's tend to do that to people! Just keep dodging, I'll keep the Poe at bay!" Joel yelled back, aiming his bow at the large Poe assaulting Link. He shot his arrow and the distracted Poe was hit.

_Ow! Hey! Don't meddle in things that don't concern you, brat! _

While the Poe was berating Joel, Link looked over to see the flames on his swords were fading away, only a little bit of the flames left on the tip of the swords. Before he could make an attempt to get them, the angry Poe swung its lantern again at Link. He rolled, just barely escaping the attack and grabbed his swords in the process. "You got hurt? Aww... that's a shame. Oh well. My turn!" Link said, mimicking the Poe's words earlier. This simply made the Poe angrier and provoked it to use a different attack. This time, it swung its lantern, letting a fireball loose from it which was now flying towards Link.

"Link! Hit it back with your sword!" Joel yelled before it was too late.

Link obeyed and slashed at the fireball. This time, his blades did not catch on fire, but instead the fireball now started heading back at the Poe. The Poe hit the fireball back again and Link followed suit. _"What is this, a game?" _Link thought as he kept up the game of ping-pong with the Poe. After a few more volleys, the fireball finally connected with the Poe as it was growing too fast to repel. Link wasted no time rushing up to the Poe and slashing away. He managed to hit it a few times before it hit him away with its lantern. He could hear Joel cry out his name before he got up from the ground. This time, he was the one on fire instead of his swords. While he frantically attempted to put out the strange flames on his body, Joel shot an arrow at the Poe, only to have it turn ethereal again. Joel quickly pulled, nocked, and shot another arrow all in one movement, showing his skill with a bow. This one struck the lantern of the Poe and it began to catch fire as Link and his swords did before. A lightbulb practically sprouted above Joel's head at this moment. He ran over to the arrow before it could become fully aflame and ran over to Link and lit the edge of his blades with the arrow.

"What are you doing, Joel?" Link said, finally calmed down.

"Take your swords and use them against the Poe." Joel said sternly, forcing the blades into Link's hands before the Poe could send another fireball their way. "Hurry before they engulf your blades!" Joel shouted, nocking another arrow.

Link didn't need to be told twice. He gripped his blades tightly and charged at the Poe. Like before, it tried to turn ethereal, however, Link's newly blazed swords still managed to cut it. The Poe's shawl burst into bright purple flames and slowly began to burn away, revealing the Poe's true form. The Poe was short in height, however it didn't make it any less terrifying. It had a head that seems to be made of fabric with a slightly demonic smile stitched into it. Its body followed suit, making the appearance of a doll. It had short, impish feet which bore a small blade, looking the appearance of a short scythe.

_You little... Now you're going to pay!_

"Am I, now? Our last few struggles seem to prove otherwise." Link said with typical Gerudo bravado. His Triforce glowed faintly in agreement, but Link could feel the invigoration it gave him. "Joel, I want you to stay out of this round. This is my fight." Link said quietly, but sternly.

"Got it." Joel said, not bothering to argue.

Link immediately threw one of his blades at the Poe, only to have it turn intangible yet again. However, this time, as the Poe was distracted with the sword, Link ran up to it and stabbed through its torso. His other blade that he threw had rebounded off of the wall and was now behind him. When the angered Poe swung its lantern at Link, he back-flipped and used his current sword in hand to juggle his other blade into the air so he could catch it. "Hello other sword." Link said as he landed on the ground. "Good-bye crazy doll." Link spun in a full circle, bringing his sword with him, slicing right through the Poe's body. It finally fell from its spot in the air.

_What... you beat me... Who the hell are you?_

Link walked up to the fallen Poe and raised one blade above his head, ready to strike down the apparition. "I'm the Hero of Time." Link whispered before bringing his blade down onto the monster.

**A/N Aaaaaargh. I hate to end this chapter so short, but I just HAD to finish it up. Sorry about the ending if the fight seemed too flashy or if you didn't like the "Hero of Time" part at the very end. I just felt like adding that. :3 Anywho, read and review please! I'll see you all later! **

**-B1NARD1**


	8. Trials of Awakening: Forest Part Two

**A/N: Hey. I'm back. Miss me?**

******Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, nor am I affiliated with Nintendo.**

Chapter 8: Trials of Awakening, Forest Part Two

Link picked up the small black lantern left behind after the Poe Queen's demise. "Looks like I got the Poe's Lantern." Link said, inspecting the small thing. Joel made his way to Link, picking up and stray arrows that had remained in one piece. Link turned and asked Joel, "What can we do with this anyways?"

Joel looked at the lantern and pondered for a few moments and then his face lit up, as if he had just had a brilliant idea. "Link, remember that torch at the beginning we were trying to light?" Joel inquired, receiving a nod from Link. "Maybe this lantern can do the job." He stated enthusiastically.

"You may be right. It's worth a try at least." Link agreed and put away the lantern.

"Link... where did you put that?" Joel asked, looking around Link's person for the lantern.

"Don't ask." Link said simply.

Two walked out of the room, the door of which had unlocked after the death of the Poe Queen. They re-traced their path back to the elevator room, omitting some of the aimless wandering as well as slaying a few skulls and keese with the occaisional bokoblin. They made it back to the main elevator room and Link took out his newly acquired lantern.

"You know, the longer I have this out, the weaker I start to feel..." Link said, looking at the eerie blue flame within the lantern.

"It must drain your magic." Joel offered. Link acknowledged the comment and walked up to the unlit torch and held his lantern slanting above the torch. There were no ashes nor a candle yet the torch lit, completing the square. Link immediately put away the lantern, wanting not to lose anymore magic. "Come on. Let's see if this'll work now." Link said to Joel.

The two stepped onto the stone platform and it began to descend. After a few seconds, they couldn't see the open part of the temple anymore and they were simply in the elevator's chamber. After some more seconds, the elevator grew slower until it came to a stop. "Uh... Is this the exit?" Joel asked jokingly.

"I didn't know elevators could run out of magic." Link said, unsheathing his sword.

"The Poe Queen must have been carrying the magic through these elevators." Joel stated. "What are you doing?" He asked as Link tapped his sword against several different places of the wall.

"Checking for a weak point." Link responded. "It's a trick we used to find any hiding places from when we went on a thieving mission." Link's sword hit a place on the wall and the clink of metal sounded lighter and reverberated more. "Here we are." Link said. "Got any bombs?" He asked Joel. Joel shook his head, causing Link to bow his head disappointedly.

"There is one thing we can try." Joel offered. "Deku nuts are an ingredient in manufactured bombs due to their nature to explode. We can try packing a bunch of them."

Link pondered for a moment, however this was his only option so he had to take it. "Alright." He said simply. Joel then removed his pouch and emptied out all his deku nuts where Link had specified, careful not to jostle any of them. When all of the deku nuts were loaded, Link picked up an individual one. "Turn around." He warned. Joel obeyed him and Link then threw the deku nut, closing his eyes as he did so. Through his closed eyes, Link could still see a darkened version of the flash, bright as day. The shockwave pushed Link back and when the two dared to open their eyes, the wall was collapsed. "I'm surprised that worked." Link said honestly. "Let's go."

They crawled through the small hole and emerged on the other side to see a red cave system that seemed unlike the temple. "Nayru's sakes..." Joel said in amazement.

Link heard the faint growling of some creature. He identified the voice as bulblins and grabbed Joel immediately, pulling him to the nearest aclove. Before Joel could object or react, Link whispered to him, "Do not make a sound." They waited for roughly a minute before they heard heavy footsteps coming their way. Link made a gesture to Joel to get his bow ready as he unsheathed his own sword.

They waited as the goblins came closer and closer. The bulblins walked past them and Link whispered for Joel to shoot the bulblin farthest from him. Joel let his string go and his arrow flew into the back of the creature. As it fell with a low groan, Link rolled out from the aclove and grabbed the remaining goblin, stabbing it in the abdomen. He searched their bodies and as he did so, they randomly exploded into nothingness. No ash nor any fire or remains of their existance.

"Seen that before, Joel?" Link asked after regaining his cool.

"Interesting. That's a spell. It's a very basic one that any creature can cast if it had knowledge of it." Joel began. "The caster of the spell, upon death, will explode and leave no trace of their existence. It was created in the Hyrulean Civil War to avoid the discovery of any spies. Occaisionally when the caster does explode, they may drop what they were holding like a rupee or something." Joel finished his lesson to Link.

"Interesting." Link said simply, leaned up on a wall playing with a rupee in his hands. "Were you even listening?" Joel asked Link. "For the first part." He responded honestly. "Then I got bored." Joel bowed his head, flustered. "Come on. Let's see where those guys came from." Link said as he got off of the wall and walked into the path of the cave. Joel sighed and followed Link further into the cave.

They mainly followed the faint footprints from the two bulblins through the cave along with some other slight features if they lost the footprints. The cave itself had plenty of stalactites along with some deposits of crystals. After a minute or two, Link and Joel found the entrance to a cavern and from around the corner, they could see faint illumination flickering and dancing. Link put out an arm to block off Joel from going any further. He made the same gesture as he did earlier for him to get his bow ready. Once again, Joel obeyed and Link slid along the wall, peering into the cavern. There was a fire surrounded by several crude huts.

"More bulblins." Joel whispered to Link. "Looks like a camp."

Link gave a silent nod of agreement and slowly unsheathed his sword, careful not to let the metal on metal sound reverberate. Link peeked his head around the corner to get a better look at how many bulblins were there. He counted 9 bulblins, two of them having bows, the others having swords and clubs. "Can you shoot two arrows at once?" Link asked Joel in a whisper, wanting to get rid of the archers as soon as possible.

Joel nodded and nocked another arrow onto his current one. Link pointed to the two targets he wanted Joel to get rid of. Joel closed one eye, taking aim as he pulled back the string. He gave a glance at Link for approval to shoot and Link gave a assuring look. Joel looked back at his targets and let go of the string, watching his arrows fly forth. They both hit their target, one of the arrows hitting an archer in the abdomen, causing it to fall over. The other arrow plunged into the other archer's neck. They both fell with a guttural cry that alerted the other goblins. As soon as they fell, Link charged through, splitting up his swords into two blades. He ran down through the camp, slashing at bulblins if an opportunity showed up. He took down three of them when Joel rushed in, shooting at a goblin running at Link with a club. The three remaining bulblins let out a loud cry that rung through the cave.

"They're calling for help." Joel exclaimed, shooting a bulblin immediately in the head to silence it.

Link followed suit and threw a sword at another goblin and it fell too, ending it's cry for help. The last one stopped and ran deeper into the cave system, seemingly taunting Joel and Link. Link ran after it and Joel reluctantly followed him. Their chase was cut short when they heard the faint footsteps of some gargantuan creature. Link and Joel walked slower and slower until they eventually stopped altogether. The footsteps, however did not stop as the creature got closer and closer to them, rumbling the ground with each step.

"Perhaps we should get out of here." Joel suggested. Link simply nodded and ran the other direction. Joel followed him back to the entrance of the cavern when the rumbling got progressively louder and stronger. The large stalactites at the entrances eventually gave in to the quakes and fell down, trapping Link and Joel in the cavern.

"Looks like running is out of the question." Link stated the obvious, readying his swords. Joel acknowledged Link's words and nocked an arrow onto his string. The booming grew louder until the two could see a glint in the dark with two lifeless grey eyes. A loud roar shook through the cave that staggered Link and Joel a bit. The figure stepped out of the dark and proved to be as menacing as it sounded.

**Bulblin ****Brute**

Gargantuan Goblin Warrior

The large figure sported a massive axe, being easily the size of Link. The creature itself was twice the size of Joel who stood at a few inches taller than Link. It was cloaked in iron and chain armour, only uncovered at the eyes and hands. Its dead grey eyes started back at Link and Joel, ghostly and eerie. "Joel." Link said quietly. "How good of a shot are you? In terms of accuracy, I mean."

Joel didn't respond immediately and instead pulled back his string, taking aim at the creature. "Where do you want it." He asked simply. The goblin noticed Joel's aim and began to charge at the two.

"In the eye! Now!" Link shouted, raising his swords up.

Joel let the string go and the arrow flew at the bulblin. At the last moment, the beast bowed its head, causing the arrow to simply bounce off of its helmet. "I missed!" Joel exclaimed.

"You don't say." Link said sarcastically. He stood his ground while Joel ran out of the way. As the goblin drew nearer, it raised its axe above its head, ready to strike at Link. The weapon came flying down onto Link until he rolled out of the way, causing the axe to become lodged in the stone. The sheer force of the impact caused some rocks to fall on the bulblin, weakening the armour on its head.

"Clever." Joel said as Link jumped back from the staggered giant. After a few seconds, the goblin regained its sense and faced the two again.

"Keep its attention." Link said as he sheathed his blades and ran around the beast. It turned to face Link but its attention was drawn back to Joel after an arrow hit it in the side of the head.

"Over here, rat breath!" Joel taunted, waving his bow in the air.

The large bulblin, now enraged charged at Joel, once again raising its axe above its head. Joel bit down on his lip as the creature got closer to him. In doubt of Link's plan, Joel nocked an arrow and aimed it at one of the eyes of the goblin. when it was only a few feet from Joel, Link dived onto its back, using one of his swords to hold onto the elite by hooking the blade of his sword around its neck as it thrashed and jerked, trying to throw Link off. "Come on, take the bait." Link hissed through gritted teeth. the bulblin tried to hit Link off using the length of its axe, but Link flipped over, resting on the back of its neck. The creature grew tired of Link's antics and began running backwards into a jagged wall, attempted to crush Link. "Thank you." Link said with a smirk as he jumped off from the creature at the last moment.

The blundering goblin ran right into the wall, not having Link as a cushion anymore. The jagged stones lining the wall stabbed and cut into the armour of the elite, causing parts of it to break off, creating a weak spot. "That was pretty smart, Link." Joel complimented. The creature regained its sense all too quickly for the two as it immediately ran at the two, swinging his axe. Joel sidestepped while Link rolled forward. The elite's next move was to bring down the axe onto Link. He dodged the blow once again as the large weapon became lodged into the ground behind him. Joel had already made his way behind the elite while it was trying to attack Link. He found the area where the creature was exposed and shot an arrow at it. It cried out the pained screech that a bulblin would give, at a lower pitch. Another wave of anger hit the elite, giving it enough strength to pull out its axe from the ground. It spun around, swinging its axe with it, hitting Link with part of the long handle and doing the same to Joel, knocking them both back. Link recovered much faster than Joel, spinning off of his hands as he fell whereas Joel fell flat on the floor.

The elite targeted Joel instead of Link, seeking revenge for the arrow to the back, leaving his weak point open once again. Link ran up and vaulted off of a stray rock onto the back of the goblin once more, stabbing his sword into the revealed section of its back. It cried out once more, this time more pained than the last. Before Link could remove his blade, he was thrown off by the furious elite and was launched directly into a wall, his sword remaining lodged in the bulblin's back.

"Link!" Joel called out. "Use the lantern!"

It was then that Link remembered the disarming property of the Poe's lantern from their battle and he pulled it out, swinging it at the elite. Nothing happened at first, but Link still felt his magic being drained ever so slowly. Link tried again as the elite came closer, bringing back its axe. This time, he focused his magic, willing for a fireball to come from the lantern. As if it heard his thoughts, a bluish purple fireball emitted from the eerie flame of the lantern and struck the handle of the elite's axe. The bulblin wasn't smart enough to know what Link was trying to do so it didn't drop its axe immediately, however the flame began to creep on its hands, forcing them open before it could even finish its preparation for the attack.

Link smiled with typical Gerudo mischief. "What's the matter, buddy? Can't hold your weapon?" Link taunted, getting up from the floor.

The flame kept creeping along the elite's arms, preventing him from even trying to punch Link. What was the creature's current disability was Link and Joel's advantage. Joel began shooting arrows as quickly as he could towards the bulblin's back, striking it more times than not. Link took the opportunity to retrieve his sword from the furious beast's back, forming his two swords back into one and striking one final time with all his strength. The creature roared in pain and fell to the stone floor, un-moving. Link jumped off of it and flourished his sword as the bulblin exploded into ash as the other lesser goblins had before sheathing it.

* * *

"Well, I hope we don't encounter more of those." Joel sighed, using the string of his bow as a tether to stay around his body.

"Really? I thought that was a nice challenge." Link said, cracking his neck and stretching his back. Joel looked slightly annoyed but more surprised than anything. Link looked at him and noticed his expression, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

Joel shook his head and asked Link, "Are all Gerudo like that?"

Link gave him an odd look. "Like what?"

"Like... you." Joel said, having no other way to describe what he meant.

"Well, we value a good challenge if that's what you mean." Link offered. He scanned Joel's reaction for a few seconds before going on. "We are more aggressive than other races, I'll say that for sure."

"More sadistic..." Joel muttered under his breath.

Link chose to ignore the comment and went on. "We're also quite blunt about certain topics." Link said with a slight smile. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

"Just one more thing. You seem a little... sarcastic." Joel said honestly. "Are all Gerudo like that?

"Most Gerudo." Link chuckled. "The other Gerudo only act like this towards men. Excluding me, of course. They spend their time trying to seduce me." Link said, shuddering a bit with an uneasy expression.

"And you?"

"I just act like this to people in general. Although I'm a bit less rude about it."

"Note taken." Joel said, turning towards the only open path they can take.

Link did the same and spoke as he began walking towards the path. "Shall we move on?"

Joel followed him into the passage. They looked around and this path was more clean-cut and orderly, as if something had come through and cut all the stone. There were no stalactites like the other caverns had nor were there and stray rocks. "I didn't know bulblins could be so orderly." Joel said, taking in the sight.

Even Link was a little astounded by how smoothly shaped the path was. Wanting to change the topic, he asked Joel a question. "What do you think we'll find at the end of this trail?

"Who knows." Joel said. "Maybe a base, another camp, or just a cavern." Link nodded in agreement. "Hopefully we don't find another one of those goddess-damned giant bulblins."

Link shrugged and kept walking. Along the path, they noticed a few crystals that were clear in appearance but glowed the same colour as the eerie flame in Link's lantern. "Something tells me I shouldn't touch those." Link said, moving away from the crystals.

"Calm down." Joel told Link, laughing a bit. "They seem to be the same magic as the one in your lantern so all it should do is prevent you from using your sword for a little bit."

"About that," Link began. "when I used that fireball, I seemed to use up a lot of my magic. Is there any way to replenish it?"

"I'm surprised you don't know that much about magic, Link." Joel sighed. Before Link could retaliate, Joel continued speaking. "There are some apothecaries in Hyrule Castle town that sell magic potions."

Link stopped walking and proceeded to lay his head on a nearby wall. "Oh, how the goddesses hate me..." He muttered as he lightly tapped his head repeatedly against the smoothed wall.

Joel noticed Link's actions and turned around to look at him. "What's the matter with you?"

Link didn't intend on telling Joel of what happened last time he tried to visit Hyrule Castle town, but at this point it seems that he has to. "Well, Joel, for reasons I cannot understand, I'm a wanted criminal in Hyrule." Link saw Joel's expression fall dark and worried.

"W-Why is that exactly?..." Joel asked, his voice wavering with fear. Link began reading Joel's body language to see what his current expression was. Joel's legs were just barely shaking, indicating fear. Joel's arm also began tensing up, as if he was ready to grab his bow at a moment's notice.

Link ignored all of Joel's body language and proceeded to speak. "I don't know why. All I know is that the entire Hylian Guard is trying to arrest me." Link sighed in frustration and continued speaking. "Have you heard of any crimes lately?"

Joel's arm became slightly less tense and his legs had stopped shaking entirely. His voice also became stronger as he said, "I have been in Castle Town recently, so I wouldn't know. Have you done anything wrong at all?"

Link scoffed a little. "Besides stealing?" Joel smirked slightly, understanding typical Gerudo activity and nodded his head. "Then no, I haven't done anything." Link confirmed.

"Then I can't say I know why." Joel said honestly, relaxing his arm entirely. "How about this. We'll finish up in here and then I'll help you figure out why you're wanted."

Link gave a smile, happy with Joel's generous offer. "Thanks. Now let's figure out what's at the end of this."

The two kept walking through the cave, finding more of the magical crystals that they had seen earlier in the passage. Link accidentally stepped on one and his foot went numb for the next minute or so, struggling to walk. Joel helped him walk until he was able to walk on his own. "I just had an idea." Joel said as he let go of Link. "I could use these crystals as arrowheads. It'd probably be pretty effective."

"That's pretty smart, but how would you cut them or even harvest them?" Link asked.

"Oh yeah." Joel said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I guess we'll just stick with your lantern."

"I'll give you credit, it was a smart idea." Link offered. He focused his attention back onto their current path "How long is this path, anyways? We've been walking for at least three minutes now."

"I don't know," Joel said. "but I think we're almost at the end. The path is getting rougher." He was right. As they kept walking, the path was not as smoothly cut as it was before and it began growing larger, as if they were approaching a cavern. After several more seconds, they heard the sounds of huffing and grunting. They could hear some bulblins "talking" faintly. Joel removed his bow from his back once again, but this time he didn't nock an arrow.

Link followed suit and equipped his sword, this time equipping his shield in his right hand rather than separating his blade into dual swords. They crept up against a wall, being careful not to make any noise. Once they were in an actual cavern, they saw a small camp, this one without tents yet the cavern was much larger than the other ones they had been in. They looked in and the cavern seemed to be lined with moss until they noticed that it was vines, not moss. Link examined the camp and saw four bulblins, two being an archer, the other two not having any sort of weapon. The thing that caught Link's eye were the two enormous boar-like creatures resting by a wall. Link's eyes widened and the creatures grunted again. One of them glanced in Link's direction and immediately, the two got back behind the wall they were looking from. Link began to yell at Joel in a whisper, "What in the name of Farore was that thing?!"

"Those were bullbos from what I imagine." Joel whispered. "Bulblins used to ride them in the Twilight Age, but I thought they had all gone extinct..."

"Well, clearly they're not. Those things are massive. How are we supposed to get by them?" Link asked.

"From what I know, they're docile until provoked." Joel said. "Or until a rider tells them what to do." Link rolled his eyes and sighed. Before he could say anything, Joel continued. "That being said, I have an idea." Joel leaned out, nocking an arrow. He looked at where the bulblins were, and they were around the fire. He looked at the two bulblins and aimed for the one on the left. He let his arrow fly and quickly ducked behind the wall. He heard the creature squeal followed by the sounds of heavy galloping. From what the two could hear, the bulblins were getting trampled. They then heard the sound of crashing and the wall shook. The sounds of galloping had subsided.

"Let's see what we did." Link whispered to Joel, twirling his sword in his hand. He ran off from the wall towards the camp and killed a bulblin archer that was still disoriented from the madness.

Joel rolled his eyes and followed after Link, shooting an unarmed bulblin. One of the archers had been killed by the bullbo and the last remaining bulblin was killed by Link. The bullbo remaining near the wall paid no mind to the two, regardless of the fact that they just killed their masters.

Link looked into the cavern to see where it led to discover that it wasn't a cavern, but a huge hollowed out path. As far as Link could see, the vines grew more plentiful towards the end, as if they were getting back outside to the forest. "Let's head that way. There may be something worth our time."

"Sounds good." Joel said. "Hey, what's that behind you?"

Link turned around and saw two small chests. He opened one of them up to find a shining red rupee. The other chest contained a large gleaming purple rupee. "Nice." Link said.

"You're splitting that with me." Joel laughed.

Link laughed slightly and tossed Joel the red rupee. Joel pocketed the rupee without much complaint. "Now then," Link said, climbing onto a bullbo. "let's get down there."

Joel climbed onto the other bullbo as it woke up from unconsciousness. They both faced the long path of the cavern and kicked their bullbos hard enough to get them to run down the cavern. Joel had to hang on as tight as could to simply have a hold on the reins of the bullbo, to say nothing of trying to stay on. Link however, was having no problem riding the bullbo due to his experience of riding horses. The speed of the bullbos quickly brought them to the end of the cavern which instead of a wall, was simply an exit to a field. Several vines were lining the walls and several stray rocks were around. The grass, however was corrupted and dark and they had not noticed that it had already become nighttime.

"Link, I don't think we're in the Lost Woods anymore." Joel said, looking around at the dark view.

"You don't say." Link muttered, being slightly depressed by the sight. "Let's just find whatever's in this place." Link hopped off the bullbo and walked on further into the field. There were few bulblins around and any bulblins they did encounter were quickly killed.

"There are too many bulblins here to be uncontrolled. There has to be some sort of leader." Joel said to Link.

"Perhaps that huge bulblin was it?" Link offered.

"If it was, we probably would stop running into bulblins." Joel responded.

"Well, let's see who the big bad boss is." Link joked. He unsheathed his sword and began flourishing it as they walked.

"What's the need for that?" Joel asked, referring to Link twirling his sword.

"Just getting my arm ready." Link said, continuing to twirl around his blade. "And it's fun." Link added with a smirk.

Joel laughed and focused back on their current path. He noticed that there was a bulblin against a tree holding a bow. It seemed to notice Link and Joel and immediately ran off.

"It's trying to call for help. Shoot it." Link ordered to Joel.

Joel removed his bow from his back and nocked an arrow, taking aim. The bulblin turned around and nocked an arrow of its own, however this one was on fire. It shot the arrow, not trying to hit Link nor Joel but instead shot a tree on the path infront of them. The tree sprung ablaze quickly, sending hot ashes and flaming leaves towards Link and Joel. Joel let go of his arrow, trying to hit the bulblin but in vain. By the time they regained their wits, the goblin was gone from sight.

"Damn." Link hissed, brushing a burning leaf off of his shoulder. "Well, probably only going to be a few bulblins. Nothing we can't handle." Link said, taking his shield onto his free hand.

As they kept walking, they heard the sound of a bullbo squealing in the distance, as if it was ready to charge. They couldn't identify the source until they heard the sound of galloping and a faint figure came into view. It was a massive bullbo cloaked in iron armour with two tusks. The figure that surprised them more was the rider, a goblin much larger than the bulblin elite they had encountered, wearing less armour but equally as menacing, if not more. It wore what seemed to be a hammer on its back that could easily flatten the both of them. Its bullbo stopped mere meters from Link and Joel, pacing slowly back and forth infront of them.

"Responsible for killing my warriors, you humans are." The large goblin spoke in broken Hylian, clearly not being fully familiar with the language.

"Defeated your warriors, we did." Link said, mocking the creature. The goblin gave a toothless smile, not one of amusement, but of slight dementia. The bulblin kicked its bullbo in the side and it bucked and charged towards Link and Joel. They both dodged in different directions, narrowly avoiding being trampled.

"Pay for this, I will make you." The bulblin growled with an insane smile across its face.

**King Bulblin III**

Goblin Warrior Master

"Joel, whatever you do, do not hit the bullbo. We really don't want to make it any more angry with us." Link said, entering his typical battle stance. "Joel?" Link looked over to his left to see Joel was no longer there, but instead hiding behind a tree. "You son of a..." Link muttered under his breath. He heard the bullbo squeal again and focused his attention back to it. It bucked onto its hind legs and then charged at Link, missing him as Link sidestepped. "Alright, let's see if you're as stupid as that giant..." Link said as he got up against a wall. Once the bullbo turned back around, it charged at Link again. At the last moment, Link vaulted off the wall, pushing off on the bullbo's armoured head to jump over it, causing the bullbo to get its tusks stuck in the wall. Link smiled, pleased that his plan worked and immediately ran up to the stuck bullbo and began slashing its rider. After three slashes, the bullbo freed itself and began running, throwing Link off.

"Argh..." Link groaned, getting up from the ground as his shield jabbed him in the side as a result of the fall. "Not gonna help me out here, Joel?" Link called out to the cowardly ranger residing behind a tree for safety. As the bullbo turned back around to charge at Link, the latter raised up his shield, ready to fake out the beast again. As it began charging, Link saw a small projectile fly past him and strike the bullbo in the face, where its armour did not protect it. It lost its direction and ran into a rock instead of hitting Link. It plowed directly through the rock, but was confused even more. "Thank you, Joel." Link muttered under his breath, wasting no time to jump onto the bullbo with the massive bulblin and began slashing again. This time, he managed to get the bulblin off of his bullbo and Link jumped off of the beast, approaching the fallen bulblin.

The bulblin, now irritated, removed the large hammer from his back and held it with both hands, challenging Link. It gave a glance towards Joel and he ducked behind his tree, leaving Link alone to fight the goblin.

"Thanks, Joel. Thanks a fricking lot." Link growled, entering a battle stance. "Come on. Let's see what you've got." Link said, facing the bulblin again.

The large bulblin swung its hammer with surprising ease and speed, likely due to its strength. Link rolled under the attack to the right, not wanting to get any closer to the large goblin. Regardless, the bulblin quickly recovered from missing its swing and brought its hammer down, trying to crush Link. Link had no time to dodge again and instead brought up his shield to block the blow. The shield absorbed most of the hit although Link's hand still took a decent amount of pain. Link cried out for a short second before regaining his pride and readying for another attack. This time, the bulblin laughed and grabbed a rock, throwing it at Link.

Link dodged the rock with ease and began taunting the goblin. "You're going to have to do better than that." Link said, turning to face the bulblin. By the time he turned around, its large hammer was already heading towards Link's head. Link barely dodged the attack by back-flipping, sweat dripping down the side of his face. _Damn, I'll need to start attacking if I want to survive..._ Link thought, examining for a weak point. Several parts of the bulblin's body was unprotected, although Link wouldn't be able to get close enough to strike them without getting hit by the hammer. _I need to get that hammer away from him._ Link thought. Then the thought of the Poe's lantern popped into his head. He immediately grabbed it and summoned a fireball at the bulblin before it could take another swing.

The blue flame crept along the hammer, threatening the bulblin's hands. Like the elite, the bulblin wasn't smart enough to let go of the hammer and as a result, the flame cloaked the goblin's hands, causing them to go numb. Being unable to hold its weapon, the goblin dropped its hammer, trying to get feeling back in its hands. Link took this opportunity to begin slashing away at the bulblin's open points, drawing sickly, greenish blood with each swing. King Bulblin eventually hit Link with his arm, knocking him back. Link managed to catch himself by flipping in mid-air, landing on his feet.

"Bit mad, are we?" Link taunted, wiping away some blood from his mouth caused by the rugged armour of the bulblin.

The flame began fading away and King Bulblin exercised his hands. He flashed an evil smile towards Link once he knew he could use his hands. He picked up his hammer again and slamming it on the ground as hard as he could. A shock wave rushed towards Link, launching him back. This time, he didn't recover and fell on his back first, rolling onto his stomach due to the momentum. When Link got up from the floor, King Bulblin had already swung, knocking Link into a tree.

Link held his stomach and coughed up small blotches of blood from the sheer impact of the hammer against his stomach. "Sh-Shit..." Link hissed through coughs. The pain was staggering, not only from the hammer but the strength of the bulblin added to it.

"Just die." King Bulblin growled with a wicked smile across his face.

"You first." Link retorted, standing up, slashing at air as he readied back into his battle stance.

King Bulblin attempted another swing at Link which was easily dodged. Instead of dodging away from the bulblin, Link dodged to the inside, closer to King Bulblin's face. Immediately, Link bashed him with his shield, quickly following up with a slash to the face, leaving a long scar across the stunned goblin's face. Link back-flipped, not pressing his luck any further, finishing his attack. King Bulblin's face bled where Link had hit him, but he paid little mind to it and instead used his hammer to smash two trees in. Both of them began falling towards Link and the latter cut one trees, jumping over the other. He expected another attack from the bulblin and as predicted, King Bulblin immediately tried to bash Link's head in with his hammer. Link dodged the attack, causing the bulblin's hammer to break through the second fallen tree, throwing splinters up, obstructing his view.

Link noticed that King Bulblin's side was left wide open and took his chance at an attack. He spun around in a swift circle, bringing his sword with him which caused a deep cut in the side of the goblin's body. King Bulblin cried out in pain, his yell being deep and guttural. Link jumped back, avoiding getting hit by the reflex of King Bulblin. Link pulled out his lantern, leading the flame along the grass, willing it to leave a trail of fire along the path. The lantern obeyed and burned a line across the grass, not burning up anything else. When King Bulblin had recovered from a mix of confusion and pain, he turned around and immediately began charging at Link. Through rage, the goblin reluctantly ran directly through the flames, which quickly engulfed his legs, creeping up to his entire body.

"Got you now, don't I." Link said, smiling at the sight of the bulblin falling to the floor, completely paralyzed. Link raised his sword above his head, ready to strike down King Bulblin. He hesitated as he looked at the helpless goblin for several moments. Eventually, he sheathed his blade and returned his shield to his back. "I'm not going to kill you." Link said, receiving immediate surprise from the goblin. "Leave this temple. If we are to encounter one another like this again, I will not hesitate to end you." Link threatened, willing for his flame to remove from King Bulblin.

The large bulblin got up from the floor, holding his hammer with only one hand and spoke in his continued broken Hylian. "Understand why you spare me, I do not. But honor an opponent, I will." The bulblin turned from Link and began walking towards his bullbo. "Have my word, you do." Then, he blew a horn, calling his remaining bulblins to him. At first, they were ready to attack Link but King Bulblin raised a hand, calming them. He led them back into the cavern Link and Joel were first in, eventually taking them out of the temple.

Link watched the group as they rode out of the area and once they were out of view, he turned back to the only remaining way he could go. A large heart shaped crystal sat there and glowed with a heavenly light. Link picked it up and it faded away into his hands. He felt all of his strength returning to him as well as a little more strength than he had before. He turned to his right to see if Joel was still hiding behind his tree and the ranger had been watching the entire time. Link shot him a glare and Joel rose from his hiding spot.

"Next time you leave me like that, I'm letting the bulblins take you." Link threatened.

"Sorry..." Joel laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head again. "Well, we might as well see what's left in this temple." Joel suggested.

Link nodded and walked further into the path that was left. They eventually came to a room with what seemed to be a small shrine in it. The shrine had a platform, similar to the one Link saw at the entrance of the temple with a different symbol on it. Although Link had never seen it before, he identified it as the symbol of the forest. He reluctantly stepped on the platform and his Triforce began resonating with it. everything around him began to turn foggy and mystic and then without another moment's notice, Link was transported to a realm where he stood on a platform with water flowing from it down to a seemingly infinite void.

"Whoa..." Link said in astonishment. He looked around and he saw that there was a figure standing before him. The figure was clearly spiritual, being pale and practically glowing. The figure was wearing a bright green tunic with two golden plated leather gauntlets, bearing a red gem in the middle of both of them. The figure also wore a green cap, the end of it falling behind his head. The spirit also wore white tights along with leather boots. He also had two small blue earrings along with sharp blue eyes. Link opened his mouth to ask who the figure was, but before he could, it spoke to him.

"You wonder who I am, gerudo." The spirit said. "I am a past incarnation of yourself, an ancient hero.'

Link's eyes widened with shock and he searched for the proper words to ask the spirit. after several seconds of searching, he found the right words. "Why am I here?" Link asked simply.

"Saria told you that you are to learn of your past here, and that is my purpose. I will teach you of your past from my time. Only after learning from all of the temples will you be fully able to take on Ganondorf."

"Ganondorf? What do you mean? He's an ally to me, not an enemy." Link exclaimed, still surprised.

"In due time, you will know, my child." Spirit Link said. "For now, I must depart from you. But we shall meet again. Take my knowledge with you and grow."

Then, he extended his left hand towards Link. After a few moments, Link took his hand with his left hand. Their two Triforces glowed brightly and they both mirrored one another's movements, closing their eyes and breathing deeply. As they did, Link felt a pool of memories and knowledge rushing to him. They separated their hands and stared at one another. Without another word, the realm around Link faded away and he was transported back outside in front of the temple where he had began. He looked around and saw a very confused Joel standing there next to him.

"Link, what just happened?" Joel asked, looking around him.

"Nothing major." Link said. "Come on, let's go." He added, turning from the temple and walking away. _Thank you, Link._ He thought to himself as his Triforce faintly glowed.

**A/N: WOO! I'M BACK! And I got a nice 7,000 word chapter for you guys! Sorry for going out on a hiatus for like, ages. But hey, I'm back now and I'll try to update more often. Thank you guys so much and please, review. I'll give you virtual cookies if you review!**


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